News

MMCDC’s New Markets Tax Credit Financing Director was a featured panelist at a Novogradac conference in San Diego, California, Jan. 25-26. Hear all about advocating for a state credit in this brief interview with Julia Nelmark.

MMCDC is a prior multi-year awardee under the federal New Markets Tax Credit program. Learn more about our staff and approach, and previous projects.

 

From glory days to dilapidation and back again, the 100-year history of a Minnesota landmark is now available on two videos.

The Graystone Hotel in Detroit Lakes, which helped foster the growth of outstate Minnesota tourism, turned 100 years old in 2017. A celebration of the hotel’s history and restoration was held Sept. 21, 2017, with a time capsule dedication and public tour, historic exhibits, entertainment and presentations. Two videos related to the event and history are available as links on MMCDC’s website and as keepsake DVDs for purchase at the Becker County Museum, located at 714 Summit Ave. in Detroit Lakes.

MMCDC acquired the building in 1998 and, with assistance from multiple investors and funders, restored it under standards set by the U.S. Department of the Interior. MMCDC subsequently renovated every building on the block, with all buildings now appearing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo courtesy of Becker County Historical Society

In this opinion piece published Nov. 23 in USA Today, fellow community developer Suzanne Anarde shared a real-world view on “trailers,” aka mobile or manufactured homes. The following is excerpted from that column.

Mobile homes could help solve the affordable housing crisis and help people recover from disasters. They should not be synonymous with slurs.

The holidays are a time when many of us reflect on the meaning of home. But the fact is that not all homes are created, or valued, equally.

Take the manufactured home, otherwise known as a mobile or trailer home. There is no American dwelling more disrespected. They’re derided as “tornado magnets,” and they serve as the butt of plenty of jokes and derogatory terms about low-income, rural people.

For me, this gets personal. I grew up in manufactured housing, first in a singlewide trailer next to my family’s trading post on a Navajo reservation, and later in a brand new doublewide in a New Mexico trailer park. I never knew there was anything wrong with that. It was where my mom was, where I did my homework, where we shared Thanksgiving dinner and put up our Christmas tree. We lived comfortably, with dignity, and it had nothing to do with the public’s attitude toward the physical structure of our house.

A home should never be synonymous with a slur. But beyond that, updating public perception is important because manufactured housing is important. It constitutes the country’s largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing and is home to more than 17.5 million low-income Americans, most of them in rural and small-town America.

Manufactured housing costs about 20% of the average site-built home. Under the right conditions, it can help solve the affordable housing crisis in our country. In fact, a growing body of evidence shows that a high-quality, factory-built home, combined with fair and affordable financing and ownership or long-term control of the land where it’s installed, is an effective tool for low-income Americans to keep a reliable roof over their heads and build some equity.

Continue reading…

The Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 30th anniversary! A special banquet is being held Dec. 1 at Mystic Lake Casino. MMCDC’s affiliate, the White Earth Investment Initiative, is one of many event sponsors.

Register and support the work of this important group.

NeighborWorks America is devoting its monthly newsletter to community development in Native American communities. The newsletter features a story on the expansion of the White Earth Tribal and Community College, which utilized financing from MMCDC as well as its affiliates, Community Development Bank and White Earth Investment Initiative.

Read the newsletter here.

Customers reviews were positive for MMCDC’s Home Loan Division in the most recent quarter:

It was a very easy process, and we are happy with the service we received Friendly and prompt Everything went smoothly and closed on time from the date that was estimated Everyone we worked with was wonderful, responsive, and had a great sense of humor Quick, thorough, and informative Was a quick response on questions, was able to close fairly quickly Everyone was very helpful For all the high talk on how much paperwork involved with buying a home, went way smoother than expected We couldn’t be more pleased-efficient, friendly, professionally meticulous Request for 2nd Mortgage for Home Improvement loan went well Quick, very smooth financing. Can’t wait to get our house fixed up Very smooth process – everyone I worked with was helpful and efficient Without your service, myself and many others I know wouldn’t be able to buy a house

For more information on home loan options, go to our Mortgage Lending page.

A dream became reality in 2017, when the International Market Plaza opened in Fargo, ND.

With encouragement from MMCDC, the staff and board of directors at the Immigrant Development Center (IDC) of Fargo-Moorhead worked for years toward the opening of a market similar to those in their home countries. In their collective mind’s eye, they saw a grouping of restaurants and retail stores around an enclosed courtyard, where community members could gather to visit, eat and shop.

That vision is not far from the reality taking shape at 1345 Main Ave., Fargo. IDC purchased and remodeled 6,500 square feet of the existing building, and has found 10 new tenants. The result is a

rich ethnic mix of goods and services, including retail shops, two restaurants and a coffee shop coming later, along with the existing Tae Kwon Do studio. Services include hair cutting, henna tattoos, and sewing.

MMCDC provided affordable, flexible loans totaling $420,000 toward the $1.1 million project. A federal grant to IDC also contributed to financing for the building. Key to receipt of the grant was the potential to repurpose up to 25,600 square feet of underutilized commercial space, and add 57 new jobs and 16 new businesses in a low-income neighborhood, with a 33 percent poverty rate and a median family income of just 55.7 percent of the average area median family income.

MMCDC members and guests enjoyed a presentation on the historic renovation of the Graystone Hotel and entertainment by the Heart O’ Lakes Harmony group at the annual meeting Thursday, June 15, at the Detroit Lakes Community and Cultural Center.

The Hotel opened in 1917 in Detroit Lakes, MN, and was purchased by MMCDC in 1998. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and subsequently renovated. MMCDC’s offices are now located in the Hotel and in the former Teague Building, longtime home to Blanding’s Department Store. A public event commemorating the Graystone’s 100th anniversary is planned for the Fall.

Janet Green

President Kevin Shipley and Chairman Ron Lindberg presided at the meeting. Among the items of business was recognition of longtime board members Kathy Henry, Larry LePier, Terry Stallman
and Ron Lindberg. Janet Green is the incoming board chairwoman.

Every day, the dedicated members and partners of MMCDC work with residents to improve neighborhoods and the lives of people in the communities we serve. This work, along with that of many similar organizations, is celebrated during national NeighborWorks Week, June 3-10, 2017.

Last year, along with our partners, MMCDC rebuilt a restaurant that had been lost in a fire, helped 96 first-time homebuyers acquire a home, renovated 30 affordable rental units for seniors and the disabled, preserved affordability of an additional eight units, financed 14 nonprofit and for-profit businesses, supported training for volunteers who contributed hundreds of hours to their communities, and much more.

As a chartered member of NeighborWorks®, MMCDC must meet a high standard of fiscal integrity and service performance to assist residents in developing leadership, improving their neighborhoods, and securing decent, affordable housing.

We are one of more than 240 NeighborWorks® organizations working in nearly 4,000 urban, suburban and rural communities nationwide. Our link to this powerful and unique nationwide network of community development organizations adds great value to what we do in disadvantaged communities in Minnesota and the Midwest.

Through NeighborWorks®, we have access to financial resources, tools, training opportunities, and the experience of hundreds of colleagues from around the country who can help us make our community a better place to live. Rather than just build housing, we help residents revitalize an entire neighborhood … or develop skilled grassroots citizen leaders … or improve the capacity of local organizations … or optimize the often hidden powers of local institutions. In short, we build community.