Columbia Heights is poised to grow its stock of deeply affordable housing with help from Anoka County and a vacant assisted living building.
The Anoka County HRA recently acquired the former 50-unit assisted living building at 1515 44th Ave. NE in Columbia Heights with plans to convert it to 26 units of housing for low-income families, according to a staff report for Monday’s Columbia Heights City Council meeting.
The report reveals the building has been vacant for “several years.” Anoka County completed the purchase on May 31. Crest View Corp. of Columbia Heights was the seller. Minnesota Department of Revenue records with sale price information and other details haven’t been made public as of Tuesday.
Anoka County hasn’t worked out all the details of the project, but the Columbia Heights City Council unanimously approved a resolution in support of the county’s plans Monday night. The resolution recognizes the need for affordable housing within the city and allows the Anoka County HRA to move forward with the project.
Mitchell Forney, Columbia Heights’ community development coordinator, said the next steps in the city entitlement process include a lot line adjustment followed by planning and zoning approvals.
“The ACHRA does not have an official outline of the project completed, but staff expect approximately 26 deeply affordable housing units,” Forney said in an email. “Deeply affordable” means the homes would be affordable to households at 30% of the area’s median income.
Royce Place was built in 1991 and sits on a 3.56-acre site, according to Catylist. The building is at the northeast corner of McLeod Street and 44th Avenue Northeast.
Citing a need for more deeply affordable housing, the city council offered full-throated support for the Anoka County HRA plan Monday night.
Council Member Connie Buesgens recalled working with city staff and the council about six years ago on the city’s comprehensive plan. At the time, she said, construction of homes for people at 30% AMI was nonexistent.
“Nobody at the time was building this type of housing because basically it has to be almost 90-plus percent subsidized by the federal government or state. So it’s very, very difficult for these people to find homes. I’m excited that the county has taken this on with the monies that they have,” Buesgens said.
Buesgens added that the building is served by a bus line and would offer apartments up to three-bedrooms in size, so at least some of the units would be suitable for families.
“This is really good for the community and for people in need, that need this type of housing,” she said.
Council Member Rachel James said the building’s former owner, Crest View, was established in 1952 to provide housing for people in need. Crest View has additional assisted living facilities in Columbia Heights and Blaine, according to its website .
For its part, Anoka County chose to invest in Columbia Heights and “that’s wonderful,” James added. “I’m really excited that this place will be filled again with people who need housing, and it will be families in our community. It’s a great location, right by my house, so hopefully I can stop by and say hi once it’s built in a couple years.”
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