Deidre Schmidt

The CEO of CommonBond Communities said it has closed this month on four transactions that will result in 267 affordable homes through new construction of 166 units of housing in the Twin Cities and renovation of 101 units.

CEO Diedre Schmidt added that CommonBond, the St. Paul-based developer and manager of affordable housing that is the largest in Minnesota, expects to produce a record 925 housing units in total this year at an average cost of $191,000, including renovation and new construction.

"And we are tens of thousands of units behind in Minnesota," Schmidt said. "The support we are starting to get from employers is really critical."

Schmidt said CommonBond and other nonprofit housing managers increasingly are working jointly with for-profit developers, as well as major employers who want to see more housing, whether in Shakopee or inner-city Minneapolis. The recent CommonBond developments include:

  • The acquisition of Stonehouse Square Apartment at 215 Broadway Street N.E., a 90-unit complex built in 1895 that will be renovated to include masonry work, new mechanicals and interior enhancements.
  • Construction of The Willows in Shakopee, which include 60 apartments for people who make less than 50% of the area median income. Major employers such as FedEx, Shutterfly and Amazon have had to bus in employees because of the lack of affordable housing. An estimated 50 percent of the jobs in Scott County are filled by people who live elsewhere.
  • Construction with partners on Trail Pointe Ridge in Eden Prairie; including 58 mixed-income apartment units that is part of a larger neighborhood development called Smith Village. It also includes United Properties' Applewood Pointe, a senior for-sale co-op development, and six custom single family homes being developed by Halley Land Corp. This will be the first affordable housing in Eden Prairie in a dozen years.
  • Purchase and renovation of Guardian Angels Apartments and Townhomes in Hastings, including a former school building that dates to the 1930s. CommonBond will add three new units to a project expected to be completed next spring.

CommonBond is the largest Minnesota-based nonprofit developer and manager of affordable housing and also offers education and other self-sufficiency development programs for low-income families.