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St. Paul budget adds roughly $13 million for housing production, affordability and downtown conversion
Summary
The mayor’s 2026 proposal includes more than $13 million in housing and economic opportunity investments funded mainly by the Housing Trust Fund and local affordable housing aid (LAHA). Allocations include $5 million for office-to-housing conversions, $2 million for down-payment assistance, and ongoing LAHA-funded contracts for supportive housing.
Madeline Mitchell, the city’s budget manager, described housing and economic opportunity as one of three primary themes in the proposed 2026 budget and said the city is allocating “more than 13,000,000 altogether” for those efforts.
Key housing production and affordability items listed in the presentation include:
- $5,000,000 for office-to-housing conversion downtown. - $1,000,000 for smaller-scale housing developments. - $600,000 to support accessory dwelling units.
Affordability and supportive services allocations include $2,000,000 for down-payment assistance (an increase of $1,000,000 from 2025), $1,000,000 for emergency rental assistance, $1,000,000 for an inheritance fund and an ongoing $88,080,000 supportive housing contract. Mitchell said these investments rely on a mix of Housing Trust Fund balances and local affordable housing aid (LAHA) budgeting from recent years; LAHA began to be received in 2024 and the city had unspent dollars available to advance some 2026 commitments.
For economic opportunity, the budget extends a previously one-time commercial corridors program with an additional $1,000,000 and includes $500,000 in the HRA budget for business retention and expansion and $150,000 to implement a downtown development strategy.
Council members appreciated the alignment with council priorities and asked for continued reporting on program specifics and funding sources.
