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Family Housing Fund: Home Prosperity Fund

Type: Below Market Investments, Exited Investments, High Impact Investments

Topic: Buildings & Housing

Status: Exited

Family Housing Fund protects and creates affordable housing in the Twin Cities metro area. It also created the Twin Cities Community Land Bank to strategically invest in land and buildings.

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Investment

$5 million 10-year loan at 2%; originated in 2009. Exited in 2022 (success).

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Rationale

Capital to ease the foreclosure crisis in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro region and maintain affordability for low and moderate income families.

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Returns

Since 2009, the Family Housing Fund’s Home Prosperity Fund has provided assistance to over 482 properties and assisted 207 low- to moderate-income families achieve sustainable homeownership. This has helped stabilize urban neighborhoods hit by the foreclosure crisis.

The Family Housing Fund used McKnight capital to launch the Twin Cities Community Land Bank, an entrepreneurial powerhouse whose flexible capital helps build inclusive affordable housing and economically vibrant transit corridors.

Home Prosperity Fund Metrics Since Inception
Households receiving homebuyer assistance 207
Properties receiving development assistance 482
Properties in low-income census tracks 141
Properties in moderate-income census tracks 232
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Lessons Learned

In its eighth year, McKnight considers this loan a success. Deploying investment capital builds McKnight’s own capacity to understand when, where, and with whom, grant or investment dollars are the right tool for the right time. With flexibility from lenders, housing experts can use long-term capital to innovate. The Family Housing Fund launched the Twin Cities Community Land Bank which facilitated acquisition, rehab, and reuse of foreclosed properties during the crisis. It then adjusted its strategy to the post-crisis low prices to create a strategic acquisition fund. In 2016, the Family Housing Fund spun off the land bank filling a gap in the market to capture underutilized property and achieve mission-oriented development in line with our Region & Communities program goals.

Photo Credits: (Top) Photo by Scott Streble, courtesy of Family Housing Fund

Disclaimer of Endorsement: The McKnight Foundation does not endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes, or service providers.

Last updated 11/2017

English (Canada)