Community Land Trust Financing

The City of Saint Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) has assigned funding for community land trusts to provide new pathways to homeownership for low- and moderate-income households and to promote long-term affordable community ownership. Financing can be used by community land trusts and other real estate developers partnering with community land trusts for property acquisition, development gap financing, long-term affordability gap financing, and closing cost assistance.

Community land trusts are nonprofits that share ownership with individuals and families: they own the land, while an individual or family buys the house at a reduced price and enjoys the use of the land. At resale, the homeowner takes a share of price appreciation, leaving the rest and reducing the cost to the next family or individual to buy the house. This ensures long-term affordability.

Community Land Trust financing is provided by the City of Saint Paul Housing Trust Fund, a flexible financial tool used to address the current crisis of housing affordability in Saint Paul.

The City is currently reviewing proposals for funding. No new proposals are being accepted at this time.

Goals

The HRA has identified the following goals for community land trust activity:

• Protect housing from increasing pressure on sales prices
• Produce new affordable units
• Rehabilitate aging housing stock
• Build household and community wealth
• Address the homeownership gap
• Use HRA property as a catalyst for neighborhood transformation
• Create job opportunities for local residents, Section 3 certified businesses, and minority-owned, woman-owned, and small businesses
• Inspire innovative, sustainable design and construction methods
• Promote workforce, contracting, and housing equity

Eligibility

The Respondent must meet minimum criteria in order to have their proposals considered. Evaluation criteria include:

1. Organizational Capacity: The Respondent must demonstrate that it has had the capacity to successfully complete projects of similar scope and size to those included in its proposal.
2. Financial Capacity and Leverage: For each project applied for, the Respondent must demonstrate that it has the ability to secure all funding sources identified on the Sources and Uses statement. The Respondent can demonstrate this ability using grant or loan agreements, commitment letters, financial statement(s), letter(s) of credit from a bank or other financial institution, or other written third-party documentation of sources.

HRA staff reviewing the proposals will determine whether the Respondent has the capacity to successfully complete all, some, or none of the proposed projects and units.

Timeline