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HOME Line and Central Community Housing Trust will focus on suburban housing stock

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - October 3, 2004 - Preserving the Twin Cities existing affordable housing stock is the aim of a collaborative effort between Twin Cities nonprofit housing provider Central Community Housing Trust (CCHT) and HOME Line, a tenant advocacy organization.

The two nonprofits have been awarded $125,000 by the Surdna Foundation in New York to launch the initiative, which will focus on preserving affordable housing in suburban Twin Cities communities.

CCHT is a nonprofit developer and long-term owner of affordable housing serving the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. HOME Line uses tenant organizing to prevent the loss of affordable housing units due to terminated Section 8 contracts, building demolition, conversion into market-rate condominiums, and other causes.

With the grant funding, HOME Line will alert CCHT about affordable housing that is in jeopardy. CCHT will then assess the feasibility of purchasing the building and discuss options with its owner.

According to Vice President of Fund Development and Communications Joanne Kosciolek, the partnership enables both organizations to leverage their strengths. "This allows HOME Line to go to housing owners with a solution," she says. "At the same time, it connects CCHT with affordable units that could be preserved."

The plan aligns with a CCHT initiative to acquire and preserve suburban affordable housing that is suffering socially or economically. "The long-term goal is to see the community supply of affordable housing stabilized and increased," says Kosciolek.

Kosciolek says CCHT hopes to receive at least five referrals from HOME Line in the initiative's first year.

Central Community Housing Trust (CCHT) is an award-winning nonprofit provider of quality housing for the Twin Cities Metro Area. Since 1986, CCHT has built or renovated 24 properties, totaling 1,252 units of housing. Its mission is to create and sustain quality affordable housing that strengthens lives and communities.

Interviews available:

Joanne Kosciolek
Vice President of Fund Development and Communications, Central Community Housing Trust

Alan Arthur
President, Central Community Housing Trust

Beth Kodluboy
Executive Director, HOME Line

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