If there’s a theme to all the debate about a shortage of affordable housing in Eden Prairie, the Twin Cities area, and across the country, it might be this: “It’s complicated.”
That was evident in a Thursday, April 24 public presentation titled “What Does Affordable Housing Look Like in Eden Prairie?” The nonprofit Eden Prairie Housing Alliance presented more than two dozen slides and a wealth of numbers: housing units, rents, household incomes, demographics, and much more.
About 30 people attended the event at St. Andrew Lutheran Church.
Since it’s a complex topic, the Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) has distilled the information to just five things the Housing Alliance wants you to know.
Here goes:
Affordable housing is about people, not numbers, and about what type of community we want Eden Prairie to be.
“What we are really talking about is people who live in affordable housing,” said Joan Palmquist, who led the April 24 presentation. And, it’s about people who would like to live in affordable housing but cannot find it here.
The Alliance shared real-life stories – with names changed – about local residents whose lives have been improved by help from local nonprofits like PROP and The PROP Shop.
One example was “Bahdoon,” whose spouse died, leaving him unable to afford his house payment. With help from PROP and others, affordable alternative housing was found, and his children were able to continue attending local schools.
Added Palmquist: “The key question underlying all of this is, ‘What kind of community do we want to be?’” The Alliance believes that Eden Prairie, with a broad range of housing, is a community where there is diversity, where seniors can stay as they age, and where grown children and grandchildren can find affordable housing.
Affordable housing is a big problem – everywhere.
America’s lack of affordable housing is a frequent topic of headlines nationwide, and people with the lowest incomes are affected the most.
According to a March report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the United States has a shortage of 7.1 million rental homes that are affordable and available to the lowest-income renters. The organization says that in Minnesota, there are only 39 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renters.
Locally, the Housing Alliance notes that many people who work in Eden Prairie cannot afford to own or rent a home here, where the median home value is $558,800.
The general rule is that you are “cost burdened” if more than 30% of your income goes to housing. The Housing Alliance looked at several occupations and their average salaries and noted that, on the whole, teachers, nursing assistants, bus drivers, child-care workers, and waiters likely do not earn enough to pay Eden Prairie rents or mortgages. Only hairdressers (barely) and police officers were said by the Alliance to earn enough to live in Eden Prairie.
The City of Eden Prairie has acknowledged the housing problem in its long-range plan, called Aspire 2040, which states that many more homes are needed, especially for lower-income families. For example, the plan says households earning less than $25,000 a year need over 1,100 additional rental units across the city.
Challenging the stereotypes is critical.
Palmquist said the term “affordable housing,” for some people, raises the specter of inner-city housing projects that have failed.
At the very least, it carries the image of cheaply built homes that aren’t maintained well and drag down the property values of other nearby homes – which is why Eden Prairie residents over the years have often complained about apartment or townhome projects proposed near their single-family homes.
Converse to that is the stereotype that our current Eden Prairie neighbors are housed just fine, thank you. The Alliance noted that the Eden Prairie Schools has a “homelessness liaison” – a family resources specialist who helps schoolchildren who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. During the 2023-24 school year, more than 230 students were in this category, according to the Alliance.
The many terms and numbers are part of why the nonprofit group added real-life stories to its presentation, such as the story of “Mary,” a single mother of four who kept her kids in Eden Prairie Schools after obtaining a Section 8 housing voucher and persistently calling local apartment managers to find one that would accept it. A Section 8 voucher is a form of federal housing assistance.
“It’s definitely about people,” said Jan Eian, another of the Alliance’s leaders.
There are success stories in Eden Prairie.
In addition to “Mary” and others who have successfully navigated Eden Prairie’s affordable-housing shortage, the Alliance says there is other good news about local efforts.
A number of housing recommendations developed by a task force that the Eden Prairie City Council organized and put to work in 2019 and 2020 have turned into city policy, including a Housing Trust Fund, a tenant protection ordinance, and an inclusionary housing policy.
The inclusionary housing policy has been effective in adding affordable units to new apartment complexes being built in Eden Prairie. Any apartment project built with city assistance, such as tax-increment financing, must include a number of units affordable to lower-income persons.
For example, at the Elevate at SouthWest Station apartment complex at Prairie Center Technology drives, 45 of the 222 units are set aside for renters whose income is lower than the region’s average.
This kind of approach by the city is critical, according to the Alliance.
“How do you encourage developers to build affordable housing without some sort of partnership with a government agency? That’s the only way it’s going to happen,” said Eian.
You can help. Here’s how.
Eian said the low attendance at Thursday’s presentation was discouraging.
“I think it may be hard for people to mobilize on this topic because it seems so huge,” said Palmquist. “Sometimes tackling a major issue is so daunting; we don’t know where to start, or what to do to have a meaningful impact.
“That’s why the Housing Alliance set education of the community as our primary short-term goal,” she added. “If people understand why it is needed, hear stories of successes and failures, it becomes personal to them and they are more likely to get involved.”
People can help by joining the Alliance in its work or, if they are part of a civic or church organization, by requesting a presentation.
The Alliance is also seeking signatures on a petition asking the City of Eden Prairie to form a permanent Housing Commission to tackle issues of this type.
The Alliance says there are economic and social benefits to having a more robust range of housing, and so it will keep plugging away at trying to inform and engage residents.
‘We really want people to be interested in this,” said Eian. “Which is why I love the question, ‘What kind of community do we want to be?’”
More information about the Eden Prairie Housing Alliance is on its website.
Editor’s note: EPLN reporter Mark Weber is a board member of Onward Eden Prairie, a transitional housing program mentioned during the Alliance’s April 24 presentation.
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