Anoka County HRA authorizes negotiations on $1.5 million to help developer compete for low‑income housing tax credits

On an unknown date, the Anoka County Housing and Redevelopment Authority voted 4-2 to authorize its executive director to negotiate the potential purchase of a parcel using up to $1,500,000 in Local Affordable Housing Aid and associated HOME funds to support a developer’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) application.

The action gives staff authority to pursue a two-part approach: buy the property as the HRA using previously authorized HOME funds and, if appropriate, consider providing additional funding from the Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) allocation so the developer can increase its competitive scoring in Minnesota’s LIHTC round scheduled in July. The HRA emphasized the funding is conditional — the dollars would not be spent into the purchase price if Minnesota Housing does not award tax credits to the project.

HRA staff described the request as two related asks from the developer: one to use existing HOME-authorized funds to purchase the parcel and donate it to the developer, and a second potential grant or award from LAHA to supplement the application. “They want us to do those things for them so that they can get additional points, hopefully, get additional points in the low income housing tax credit round that’s coming up in July,” HRA staff member Tanya said during the meeting. Tanya added that LAHA is a metro-wide sales tax distribution and not county levy or general taxpayer dollars.

Trustees split on the proposal. Trustee Meissner described the motion as “allowing them to compete” in the competitive LIHTC process and praised the approach as an opportunity to bring a substantial affordable housing development to Anoka County. Trustee Schulte said she was uncomfortable with using HRA funds to “dance around the edges” of the LIHTC scoring system and opposed the action, arguing the county should pursue solutions that meet a program’s stated criteria rather than adapting projects to the scoring rules.

County staff also cautioned that the state’s point system heavily weights transit access — specifically, points are awarded for sites served by bus lines at roughly 15-minute frequencies — a requirement the county does not control and that may limit where projects can score highly. Staff said if Minnesota Housing does not award credits, the developer will likely walk away and the HRA’s authorization would be moot.

The roll-call vote recorded Trustee Reinert, Trustee Jepsen, Trustee Meissner and Trustee Heinrich as voting yes; Trustee Brasstead and Trustee Schulte voted no. The motion passed 4-2. The HRA’s authorization allows staff to negotiate and, if necessary, return with finalized agreements or additional details for the board.

The decision does not obligate the HRA to spend the full $1.5 million; staff said the final award amount could be less depending on underwriting and other financing secured by the developer. The board discussed pursuing a legislative strategy later to address perceived structural scoring issues in Minnesota Housing’s pointing system.