Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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On any given night an estimated 10,500 people are homeless in Minnesota — two-thirds of them in the metro area, according to Wilder Research results.
Concurrently, thousands who work steadily don’t earn enough to either own homes or comfortably pay for good rental housing. The Minnesota Housing Partnership’s 2024 “Out of Reach” housing assessment reported that “None of the top five in-demand jobs pay enough for workers to own a home, and four of the five jobs’ wages aren’t enough for quality rental housing.“ Among those jobs are home and health care workers, cashiers and hospitality workers.
“Affordable“ is generally defined as spending no more than 30% of household income on housing. Yet studies have shown that too many renters — including seniors and those in minimum-wage jobs — pay much more than that proportion, which forces them to cut back on other necessities.
The need for all types of affordable housing is critical. That’s why it is worth lauding the much-needed multiple housing developments that have opened recently or are in the works in the Twin Cities.
Within the last month, several affordable-housing developments broke ground. Trellis and Agate Housing and Services began work on a new 54-bed shelter and 50 affordable apartments in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis. Project for Pride in Living (PPL) and Wells Fargo began construction on 110 affordable apartments off Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue.
PPL, along with Simpson Housing Services, started building a 72-bed shelter and 42 affordable apartments, Simpson’s biggest project in its four decades. And in May, Emma Norton Services and PPL opened new supportive and affordable housing in the Highland Bridge redevelopment in St. Paul.
