Wabasha County board approves housing trust awards for two local projects

The Wabasha County Board of Commissioners approved awards from the county’s housing trust fund to two nonprofit projects aimed at preserving and adding affordable housing.

Buffy Borenick, executive director of SEMSHOT, and Patrick Michener, grant writer with Sumatra (community development), told commissioners the county-administered housing trust was seeded with $202,000 from the state’s State Affordable Housing Aid (SAHA) and that two applications were recommended for funding after a competitive request-for-proposal process.

The board approved a $125,840, 30-year forgivable loan to Multi County Builders to preserve affordability in a 48-unit HUD-subsidized project; the loan must remain tied to affordable use or the funds revert to the trust. The board also approved a $50,000 grant to Habitat for Humanity to purchase a lot and build a single-family home in Lake City for a single mother who is a veteran. Borenick said matching or additional funds total about $330,000 across both projects and that the remaining trust balance would roll into next year’s RFP.

Commissioners asked whether the state Minnesota Housing Finance Agency rules would allow matching funds; staff said MHFA matching was not available for SAHA funds and that other counties had used levy funds to augment trust funds. The board voted to approve the two awards; no dissent was recorded. Borenick said the funds are expected to be used by spring 2026, contingent on construction schedules.