Cass Clay Community Land Trust seeks Clay County partnership, explores land bank to preserve affordable workforce housing

The Cass Clay Community Land Trust updated the Clay County Board Tuesday on its efforts to produce and preserve affordable workforce housing and asked the county to partner on locating blighted parcels and on exploring a land‑bank model to hold and steward property for community benefit.

Trenton, director of the Cass Clay Community Land Trust, told commissioners the nonprofit spun out of the FM Area Foundation and has focused on developing permanently affordable homes for households at or near 80 percent of area median income. He said the organization has secured just over $6 million in funding and has completed multiple projects that together have supported homeownership and preserved housing affordability in both Cass County (N.D.) and Clay County (Minn.).

Trenton provided county‑specific figures: the land trust has seven current homeowners in Clay County — two in Dilworth and five in Moorhead — and has completed 10 projects countywide; the organization expects to close on three additional Clay County properties by mid‑April and plans further acquisition/rehab and new construction work this year. He said the group’s common programs include new construction, acquisition‑rehab of distressed properties, and a homebuyer‑initiated program (HIP) that provides subsidy investments to bridge purchase‑price gaps for qualified buyers.

Trenton said the average investment per family has risen in recent years as interest rates and housing prices have moved higher; the organization’s typical subsidy amount has grown from earlier averages into a current typical investment cited by staff as about $90,000 per family. He said families served must qualify for a conventional mortgage; the land trust uses a ground‑lease and shared‑equity model so subsidy dollars preserve future affordability.

The land trust’s work in Clay County includes plans for newly constructed homes (including larger multigenerational designs), removal of blighted homes and replacement with new units, and acquiring existing market listings to rehab and re‑sell below market to income‑qualified buyers. Trenton said Minnesota Housing Finance Agency has been a major funding partner on the Minnesota side and that the land trust uses state homebuyer programs and down‑payment assistance in combination with its investments.

Trenton also outlined a second, exploratory idea: creation of a land bank to acquire blighted or tax‑forfeited parcels, clear title and remediation issues, and then hold or convey property for public‑benefit outcomes (housing, parks, commercial uses) as communities decide. He said the land bank model differs from a land trust because it could hold land for a wider range of uses beyond single‑family permanently affordable housing.

Commissioners and staff discussed whether a land bank would qualify as a public purpose for tax‑forfeiture transfers; Trenton said the land bank would work with elected officials and communities to define public use and redevelop sites to meet local plans.

Commissioners praised the land trust’s work in Clay County and asked the organization to keep the county informed when sites or partnership opportunities arise. Trenton asked for greater collaboration in identifying blighted properties, vacant lots and households that could benefit from rehabilitation or purchase assistance.

Ending

The board received the report and expressed support for continued coordination with the land trust. No formal county action or funding commitment was made at the meeting.