Regarding the upcoming meeting of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul city councils, I need to interject my recollection that the two met in the mid-1980s - in Saint Paul that time - to call attention to their partnership known as the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Family Housing Program. It is high time to meet again, based on the extraordinary success of that Twin Cities effort.
The McKnight Foundation-funded Minneapolis-Saint Paul Program made homeownership possible for thousands of first-time buyers as well as low and moderate income homeowners by providing significantly reduced mortgage interest rates (when market rate interest was over 16 percent). In partnership with the Minnesota Building & Construction Trades Council, along with dozens of private and nonprofit developers, the program also produced thousands of new units of affordable housing in both cities throughout the 1980s. Around 1989, by refinancing the program's bond issue, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Family Housing Program created a $10 million fund to spur the development of single-room occupancy housing and transitional support services for homeless people in the two cities. Council President Lantry and Councilmember Helgen deserve great credit for bringing the two councils together again. The sky is the limit on what the two cities can do, combining talent, energy and common purpose. Jane Prince _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
