HRA director delivers final budget presentation, urges more staff and stable funding to speed housing production

Director Nicole Newton, executive director of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority and director of Planning and Economic Development, delivered what she said was her sixth and final budget presentation as she previewed the HRA’s 2026 spending priorities and warned that some HRA funding sources are “diminishing.”

Newton told the HRA on Tuesday that her department’s top priorities for 2026 are housing production and preservation, implementation of the downtown investment strategy (including office-to-housing conversions), continued emergency rental and down-payment assistance, and investments in commercial corridors, district councils and public art. “The more housing production we have, the more affordable the housing is overall,” Newton said.

The presentation summarized recent accomplishments — elimination of parking minimums, new development on HRA land, a $5 million sewer investment in Farwell Yards enabled by a TIF spending plan, and leveraged Ramsey County ARPA funds that helped produce housing for households at 30% of area median income. Newton also described internal department changes since 2020: added supervisor roles, a second deputy director functioning as a chief financial officer, and increased staff diversity.

Why it matters: Newton and multiple commissioners said the HRA now faces a choice between adding operating revenue or cutting programs. Newton…