KYLE GARDEN SQUARE – FULL SPEED AHEAD ›

Building on Alliance’s success at Minnehaha Commons – housing older adults who had been homeless – we knew we had to do more to reduce the homeless adult population. We began talking with Touchstone Mental Health two years ago to conceptualize a similar project for younger adults. At the same time, we were approached by a building owner near HCMC who had heard of our good works. They wanted to repurpose their 4 story 1920s era downtown property from office space to affordable housing. We jumped in and began applying for public capital dollars. Within one full year of funding cycles we were awarded all of the funds necessary to renovate the building into 55 apartments. Many thanks to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis, the Metropolitan Council and Minnesota Housing. In addition to the capital funding, we have commitments from Hennepin County and the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority for rent assistance for all tenants. Touchstone has the contracts and expertise to bring along money to pay for their services to tenants. In the coming year, we hope to add funding to pay for a front desk through the Housing Urban Development Continuum of Care programs. Over the next year, we’ll work through the financial closing due diligence process and begin renovation in early 2023.... Read More ›

MOVING A BIGGER HOUSING POLICY AGENDA— $2B FOR HOUSING ›

The affordable housing crisis has been atop many legislative and policy efforts over the last few years. The data is clear: the the gap between rents and income continues to widen and more families find themselves with unstable housing, or unhoused, or stressed by paying too much of their income towards rent. Alliance Housing is small but mighty in our coalition-based housing advocacy. During the current Minnesota legislative session, we’re focused on two efforts. In past years, our advocacy work with Homes for All MN has garnered $100 million in housing infrastructure bond (HIB) authorization by the MN Legislature. These resources are essential to fund the type of housing Alliance owns and managers for very low income and low-wage earners. Given the State’s 2022 surplus and the size of the housing problem, this year the group is asking for $2 billion in resources to create and preserve homes and to create more access to affordable housing with rent and homeownership assistance. Minnesotans of color are disproportionately affected by the housing crisis. The investment will reduce disparities and expand choice. Right now, please take the opportunity to talk with your own elected officials about how people you know are affected by the affordable housing crisis and ask them to support $2 billion for housing. If you’d like to get involved in future policy alerts and efforts look for Homes for All MN tweets or posts... Read More ›

MEET JESSIE HENDEL—ALLIANCE HOUSING’S 4TH DIRECTOR IN 30+ YEARS ›

Jessie Hendel’s first day as the Executive Director for Alliance Housing Inc. was March 8. Our board of directors began this search process last summer after Barb Jeanetta announced her retirement plans. With plenty of time to plan, the board cast a wide net. For nearly a year, board members have been talking to a varied group of people about what we were looking for and who might be interested. The early work paid off and Alliance received nearly 20 high-quality candidate resumes. Between October 2021 and January 2022, the the board did a series of interviews to arrive at their offer to Jessie. As a trained social worker, Jessie Hendel has spent the majority of her professional career working to provide safe, affordable, and sustainable housing for youth, families, and individuals. Her commitment to these values directly aligns with Alliance’s relationship-based property management focus. Her passion, warmth, and expertise will serve our residents, staff and stakeholders well as we look to the future. Jessie looks forward to connecting with all of Alliance’s donors, investors, and allies in the coming months to learn more about their connections to the work of Alliance Housing. Jessie worked at CommonBond Communities, a highly respected affordable housing developer, owner and manager in various management, program and operational roles for 17 years. Most recently, she directed a variety of programs at the YWCA of Minneapolis. As was true... Read More ›

MOVING TO EQUAL OR BETTER HOUSING ›

Every now and then, we take a look at why people move out of our apartments. Recently, in analyzing vacancies in our scattered-site apartments, we discovered that more than ½ of our tenants moved because they found “equal or better” housing elsewhere. At Alliance, we count it as a success if our tenants find better housing. Not only do they move up and move on, but it means another household will be able to move into one of our very affordable quality units. To give you a sense of what better housing means, we reflected on some past moves that we’ve reported on before, and some more recent ones. In the 2021 Annual Report, we covered the story of Cindy Arnold, who moved through our rooming house (several times), then on to a studio apartment, and bought a house a year ago. Cindy is a testament to our belief that a person can change and should not be judged by their worst day. Two more success stories come from families that were original participants in our North Side Supportive Housing for Families program between 2012- 2015. Gloria lived in an Alliance duplex for nearly four years before pulling together the resources to buy her own home. She... Read More ›