Supportive housing project receives $2.85 million grant – Brainerd Dispatch

BRAINERD — My Neighbor To Love Coalition has received a $2,850,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines to assist with its supportive housing project, Creekside Community. Supported by Bremer Bank, the grant comes from the Affordable Housing Program and will go toward the third phase of the Creekside Community project, supporting the construction of 19 tenant-occupied affordable housing units in Brainerd.

For Vicky Kinney, founder and executive director of My Neighbor to Love Coalition, this grant is both exciting and validates all the work that has been done over the past several years.

“We are very grateful and very happy to see more people accessing housing,” Kinney said in a telephone interview on Monday, December 16.

The first phase of Creekside Community was a fourplex, completed in 2023 on property between James Street and Riverside Drive. Currently under construction is Phase Two: Creekside North, which is a 12-unit apartment building located nearby between Northwest Second and Third streets and between Jackson and James streets.

My Neighbor To Love Coalition continues to raise funds to complete phase two of the project. Residents are expected to move into their new homes in early April 2025. More than 40 applicants applied for housing at Creekside North, and Kinney said the difficult task of turning away such a large number of people is now a little easier thanks to funding from Creekside South. She anticipates construction on phase three will begin in the spring.

The third phase of Creekside Community will include Creekside South, a 12-unit multifamily complex, and Creekside Center, a combination of seven transitional housing units and apartments. Sixteen of the 19 units are reserved for homeless households whose income is equal to or less than 50% of the average median income. Ten units are reserved for people with special needs. Creekside Community Lands will include a park, playground, community garden and permaculture features.

The competitive affordable housing program encourages collaboration between Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines member financial institutions and housing agencies to create affordable housing solutions for families in need.

“FHLB Des Moines is very honored to play an important role in enabling our district’s communities to become strong, vibrant places to live and work. » Kris Williams, president and CEO of the bank, said in a press release. “Our housing and community development programs are at the heart of our mission.”

Each year, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines returns 10 percent of its net income each year to support housing needs throughout its 13-state district and three U.S. states.

Pacific Territories. In 2024, 55 affordable housing applications were approved for a total of $100.3 million. Since the launch of the competitive program in 1990, the bank and its members have helped facilitate approximately $835 million in financing for the benefit of more than 95,500 families through the construction of new construction and the rehabilitation of housing occupied by their owner or tenants.

Still busy paying off the debt on the fourplex and continuing fundraising for the first 12plex, Kinney said it would have been difficult to see the finish line without this grant.

But that doesn’t mean fundraising efforts are over. Money is still needed to help the nonprofit complete Creekside North. Donations can be made online at mntlc.org/donate or by mail with checks payable to MNTLC sent to: PO Box 581, Nisswa, MN 56468.

Kinney is grateful to have partnered with other area organizations like Sharing Bread Soup Kitchen, Bridge on Seventh and Open Arms to help her achieve her goal of housing the homeless.

“We’re really beyond excited,” she said of the grant and the progress being made on the Creekside Community project. “It’s pretty hard to say how grateful we are.”

THERESA BOURKE can be reached at [email protected] or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa.

Theresa Bourke started working at the Dispatch in July 2018, covering Brainerd city government and area education, including Brainerd Public Schools and Central Lakes College.