Housing

Roofing manufacturer GAF Materials will shutter its north Minneapolis manufacturing plant, eliminating roughly 120 jobs at a long‑time industrial site just south of the massive Upper Harbor riverfront redevelopment, according to a Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal report. The facility sits along the Mississippi near where the city and developers are building an amphitheater, health center, park space and housing, making the closure a significant shift for that corridor’s remaining industrial footprint. The article previews the closure but, behind a paywall, is expected to detail timing, severance and whether any production or workers will be shifted to other GAF locations. For north‑side residents, it’s a hit to one of the few remaining blue‑collar plants inside city limits at the same time nearby land is being repositioned for higher‑end mixed use. The combination of job loss and changing land values will bear close watching as Minneapolis weighs what replaces GAF on a riverfront that’s rapidly moving away from industry.

Eight people were federally charged with wire fraud for allegedly stealing millions from Minnesota’s Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program — prosecutors say the charges in this set total more than $8 million, one defendant has pleaded guilty, and investigators executed raids in July as the program’s costs ballooned to $302 million over five years. Authorities allege the conspirators diverted funds into real estate in Kenya, luxury cars and personal expenses through companies including Liberty Plus LLC, and Minnesota DHS has suspended and will revoke an HCBS license tied to defendant Anwar Adow after alleging he directed inflated billing and diverted about $1.2 million for roughly 200 clients.

Minnesota has ended its Medicaid-funded Housing Stabilization Services program amid FBI probes and widespread suspected fraud — DHS says more than 700 providers received over $100 million in HSS payments last year (far above initial estimates), that CMS approved the termination, and that it is coordinating with counties, tribes and managed-care organizations to redirect affected participants. As part of Gov. Tim Walz’s program‑integrity push, DHS has also imposed an immediate, statewide freeze on new provider enrollment and some service expansions across 13 designated high‑risk Medicaid programs while federal and state audits (including a legislatively ordered third‑party audit) review billing and oversight; officials say current clients should continue receiving services.

The St. Paul Downtown Development Corporation has completed the acquisition and closed on full fee ownership of the U.S. Bank Center at 101 E. 5th St., finalizing a process that began with a late‑2025 mortgage purchase and closed Dec. 30, 2025, using only private funding. The 25‑story, roughly 516,000‑square‑foot tower (with a 348‑stall parking ramp) will now be directly controlled by SPDDC for leasing, redevelopment and tenant recruitment, a move Mayor Kaohly Her and SPDDC say will help bridge the entertainment district and Lowertown and stabilize the downtown core.

A fire in a 10‑unit, three‑story apartment building on the 2500 block of Portland Avenue South in Minneapolis around 2 p.m. Monday displaced 17 adults, seven children and three pets, after firefighters found flames burning in the attic. Minneapolis Fire Department Interim Chief Melanie Rucker said roughly 54 firefighters responded, a mayday was briefly called when a firefighter got smoke in their eyes, no injuries were reported, and a preliminary investigation points to a possible electrical cause with no fire stops in the building aiding the spread.

About five days after a Sunday fire and resulting power outage at the 24‑story Skyline Tower in St. Paul, roughly half of the building’s 773 residents have returned — all 141 households in the east tower — after the city cleared the structure, while the west tower remains closed for repairs following significant sprinkler water damage. St. Paul has added a loan program to help residents displaced or financially affected by the evacuation with housing and recovery costs, supplementing aid from CommonBond, the Red Cross and other supports; investigators say the blaze activated sprinklers on the 12th–14th floors, knocked out heat, water and elevators, no injuries were reported, and the cause remains under investigation.

Boise-based Roundhouse acquired a 158-unit apartment building in Minneapolis’ North Loop for at least $47 million, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal on Dec. 19, 2025. The deal underscores continued investor interest in the North Loop amid strong rent growth.

A developer has asked the City of St. Paul for a $3.5 million loan to help finance a mixed-use housing and retail project at Grand Avenue and Victoria Street. On December 18, 2025, the St. Paul City Council approved creation of a $9 million tax-increment financing district for the same area, a larger public-financing step than the earlier loan request.

The St. Paul City Council on Dec. 18 approved a $9 million tax‑increment financing district at Victoria Street and Grand Avenue to support redevelopment in the area. The public‑financing measure formalizes a significant city investment mechanism for the corridor.

As subzero temperatures approach, Twin Cities shelters and county officials are adding bed capacity and preparing for high demand. Minneapolis will also open a daytime warming shelter this weekend to provide additional daytime availability alongside earlier county-level increases.

St. Paul Downtown Development Corp. has purchased the Empire Building and the Endicott Arcade in downtown St. Paul. The organization says it will reutilize the Empire Building as part of a downtown stabilization strategy and will begin work in 2026 to identify commercial and retail users for the Endicott Arcade.

Ramsey County announced Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, that it has appointed a new Housing Stability Director to lead county programs that address homelessness, eviction prevention and supportive housing. The position will oversee policy and service coordination across county departments and partners serving residents in Saint Paul and Ramsey County.

Freddie Mac’s weekly survey shows the average U.S. 30‑year fixed mortgage rate ticked up to 6.22% as of Dec. 11, 2025, while remaining close to this year’s lows. The move influences home affordability and refinancing for Minneapolis–Saint Paul households heading into the winter housing market.

A new Veteran Village in Eagan opened Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, providing housing and support for veterans experiencing homelessness in Dakota County. The facility’s launch expands local capacity to serve unhoused veterans in the south Twin Cities metro.

Freddie Mac’s weekly survey on Thursday, Dec. 4, reported the average U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rate dipped to 6.19%, near its low for 2025. The move could modestly improve affordability for Minneapolis–Saint Paul buyers and refinancing prospects for some homeowners as the housing market heads into winter.

HUD’s new Continuum of Care rules have canceled or sharply cut funding for Twin Cities permanent supportive housing, threatening roughly 3,600 Minnesotans and about $48 million in CoC funds in Minnesota by reducing renewals and capping supportive‑services spending. The changes — which repudiate “Housing First,” impose eligibility conditions (eg. bans on public camping, cooperation with ICE, limits on harm‑reduction and certain gender‑identity protections) — have prompted a coalition of 185+ organizations, faith‑leader vigils, bipartisan congressional pleas and legal action by Minnesota’s attorney general as local providers scramble and warn the cuts could more than double chronic homelessness.

A recent HUD rule change sharply reduced federal supportive housing funding in Minnesota, cutting assistance that serves more than 3,600 residents. Providers statewide are scrambling—revising operations, pausing or triaging intakes—and warn the uncertain timelines could force reductions in services.

Minnesota has joined 20 other states in suing HUD over a shift in homeless housing funding. The federal changes have left local housing and homelessness programs scrambling, and Twin Cities service providers are preparing for disruptions while the litigation proceeds.

Freddie Mac’s weekly survey shows the average U.S. 30‑year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.23% as of Nov. 26, 2025, ending a three‑week climb. The move directly affects Minneapolis–Saint Paul borrowers and sellers by influencing monthly payments, refinancing decisions, and housing demand heading into the holiday season.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced it is increasing the baseline conforming loan limit for single-family mortgages to $832,750, raising the maximum size of most loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can back. The change applies in the Twin Cities’ seven-county metro in the upcoming loan-limit year, meaning more buyers can use conforming financing instead of higher-cost jumbo loans; higher limits may apply in designated high-cost areas elsewhere.

The U.S. Department of Justice proposed a settlement with RealPage, the rent‑pricing software firm at the center of an antitrust case, that would bar the company from using real‑time, nonpublic data, training models on leases less than 12 months old, or surveying landlords for private pricing information. RealPage would also cooperate in DOJ’s ongoing lawsuit against major landlords — including four that operate in the Twin Cities — accused of using the software and shared data to inflate rents; Minneapolis previously passed an ordinance banning algorithmic rent price‑fixing.

Minnesota’s Attorney General and eight other states filed a proposed $7 million settlement with Greystar Management Services over alleged rent‑fixing tied to RealPage’s pricing software. Greystar, which manages 31 Twin Cities apartment properties, would pay roughly $483,000 to Minnesota and accept limits on algorithmic rent‑setting, stop sharing competitively sensitive information, avoid RealPage events, and cooperate in ongoing litigation against RealPage.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services said it will stop Integrated Community Supports (ICS) payments on Dec. 2 to five providers covering about a dozen properties, affecting 97 participants, after investigations by the DHS inspector general found credible allegations that some providers billed for services not provided and put clients’ health and safety at risk. The suspension has prompted 60‑day and eviction notices at St. Paul’s Granite Pointe Apartments tied to Metro Care Human Services and follows an earlier halt in September that provider Jama Mahamod of American Home Health Care says led him to evict four tenants and close his business; DHS stressed that ICS service payments are separate from housing or rent.

A developer plans a 90-unit senior housing building on a city-owned site in Maple Grove, Hennepin County, aiming to provide affordable options that help residents on fixed incomes age in place. The plan, reported Nov. 21, 2025, would add new senior housing capacity within the Twin Cities metro; further city reviews and approvals are expected as the project advances.

St. Paul has designated the Hamm’s Brewery campus as a local heritage preservation district, a move approved this month that positions the project to use state and federal historic tax credits and guides preservation of stairways and other key elements (with some graffiti possibly retained depending on condition). Developer JB Vang plans 86 affordable artist-style lofts and a multi-story indoor marketplace in the stock house and laboratory buildings, aims to present a site plan in early 2026 and secure financing through 2026 to begin historically sensitive construction by fall 2027, and is planning practical interventions such as overhauling glass-block windows and reusing former barrel floor openings as a central 2½‑story marketplace feature; the city and developer led a Nov. 18 walking tour for stakeholders.

FOX 9 reports Nov. 20 that Minnesota homeowners — including in the Twin Cities — are seeing hazard insurance premiums jump as much as 40% and significant increases to wind and hail deductibles (often from $1,500 to $5,000 or to a percentage of home value), driven by severe weather losses and claims. The Minnesota Department of Commerce urges consumers to shop policies and consider weatherproofing for discounts, while State Farm says it paid out $1.30 in claims/expenses per $1 in Minnesota premiums over the past five years.

Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.22% from 6.17%, the first uptick after a four-week slide, while the 15-year fixed rate climbed to about 5.50%. The rise coincided with a roughly 4.09%–4.10% 10-year Treasury yield midday Thursday and comes amid mixed Fed signals — recent rate cuts but Chair Powell’s caution that a December cut isn’t guaranteed and tariff-driven inflation risks — with traders pricing roughly a 44% chance of a December cut.

Freddie Mac said Thursday, Nov. 20, that the average U.S. 30‑year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.26% from 6.24% a week earlier, the third straight weekly increase, while the 15‑year average rose to 5.54%. The update, which influences homebuying power in the Twin Cities, comes as the 10‑year Treasury hovered near 4.10% and markets trimmed expectations for a December Fed rate cut.

Washington County held a Nov. 19 ribbon cutting for its first county-run homeless shelter on the Stillwater Government Center campus, a $12 million, 30-room Emergency Housing Services Building set to open in the second week of December. The 24/7 facility offers private rooms with bathrooms (including two fully accessible rooms), on-site supports (social services, transportation, legal help, computer lab), and is designed for average 90-day stays while staff connect adults to permanent housing and jobs.

The St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation, with the F.R. Bigelow and Mardag foundations, announced a five‑year, $20 million “Our Home State” initiative on Nov. 17 to expand access to safe, stable and affordable housing across Minnesota; St. Paul–based Ecolab added $3 million, bringing the total to $23 million. Early investments will focus on eviction prevention, shelter capacity, affordable housing production and policy/narrative work, with leaders emphasizing support for community‑led solutions that include the Twin Cities.

The St. Paul City Council voted 7–0 on Wednesday to simplify and update standards in its T1–T4 'Traditional Neighborhood' zoning districts—aimed at encouraging pedestrian‑oriented, mixed‑use development—and immediately launched a follow‑up study to consider expanding T zoning along transit corridors. Changes include new corner parking setbacks, strengthened street‑level frontage requirements, floor‑area bonuses tied to affordable units, and clarification of height allowances; the Planning Commission recommended approval 12–0 on Sept. 5 and the council held a public hearing Nov. 5.

St. Paul opened applications for its Emergency Rental Assistance and Eviction Prevention Program, offering one-time grants up to $2,500 to low‑income tenants facing eviction, effective Nov. 13, 2025. Funded with $1 million in the 2025 city budget, the program requires landlords to agree not to evict aided tenants and limits eligibility to households at or below 80% AMI with proof of a pending eviction; the City Council is exploring funding in 2026.

A Hennepin County judge on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order barring homeless encampments on any Minneapolis properties owned by Hamoudi Sabri after negotiations between Sabri and the city broke down and following a Sept. 16 mass shooting near E. Lake St. that injured seven people. Mayor Jacob Frey said the TRO lets the city close encampments once services and shelter are offered; city crews cleared the site, estimate the cleanup cost about $50,000 and may seek reimbursement, and police have increased patrols and placed fencing around the area. Sabri says he plans to convert the cleared lot into a "hygiene and outreach hub," has not obtained required permits, faces possible citations if he violates the order, and is weighing further legal action while criticizing the city's homelessness response.

Minot-based apartment REIT Centerspace said Wednesday its board has begun a review of strategic alternatives that could include a sale or merger, and separately announced it sold its Minneapolis-area portfolio for $76 million, including properties in Minneapolis and New Hope. The moves signal a potential change in ownership and strategy affecting Twin Cities multifamily real estate.

Graco said Nov. 10 it plans to build a new headquarters in Dayton, Minnesota, and relocate from its current Northeast Minneapolis riverfront campus. The move would shift the company’s corporate base within the Twin Cities and could open Graco’s high‑profile riverfront site to future redevelopment; project details and approvals will follow local review.

Minnesota Rusco, a 70-year-old New Hope home‑improvement company, abruptly ceased operations after parent Renovo Home Partners filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy for itself and 19 subsidiaries, leaving employees — who received only three days of health insurance — and customers with unfinished work and large prepaid sums; court filings list $100–$500 million in liabilities against $1–$10 million in assets, and at least 10 lawsuits have been filed. Because Rusco was DLI‑licensed, affected homeowners must first sue and obtain a court judgment to seek reimbursement from Minnesota’s Contractor Recovery Fund, but recoveries are constrained by limits of up to $550,000 per licensed contractor (and $100,000 per consumer), and state officials are urging consumers to file complaints and dispute charges.

St. Paul’s City Council voted unanimously to order demolition of the vacant former CVS at 499 Snelling Ave. N., giving a 15‑day deadline after Hearing Officer Marcia Moermond detailed severe building deterioration (missing ventilation, compromised electrical) and an extensive nuisance history. Council Member Molly Coleman cited roughly 600 police visits in five years; CVS, which holds a lease through January 2031, asked for a 120‑day delay to seek buyers, while neighborhood groups urged demolition but worried about the consequences of an interim empty lot.

A California-based investment firm bought the seven-building Park Industrial Village in Plymouth for $26 million, more than triple what the seller paid in 2016. The deal expands the buyer’s Minnesota portfolio and marks a sizable industrial real-estate transaction in Hennepin County.

A Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal report says one of the Metropoint office buildings in St. Louis Park is scheduled for auction. The Hennepin County property is part of the multi‑building Metropoint complex, and an auction would mark a notable development in the Twin Cities office market affecting local tenants and tax revenues.

Developers Bader and Ebert plan a 181‑unit market‑rate apartment project on a former semi‑truck site in downtown Rogers, according to a Nov. 3 report. The Hennepin County proposal would add substantial new housing to the northwest Twin Cities suburb; further city review and approvals were not detailed in the report.

The Federal Reserve made its second rate cut of 2025, trimming the benchmark to about 3.9%. Consumers should expect top high‑yield savings rates to drift lower as banks pare offerings, mortgage rates—which recently fell to their lowest in over a year—may decline further while auto‑loan rates are likely to ease only slowly; the Fed projects another cut before year‑end and advisers say borrowers may want to consider refinancing or consolidating debt as rates fall.

United Properties is proposing a 36-acre development in Newport, Washington County, that would include industrial buildings, apartments and a Kwik Trip, according to a report published Oct. 29, 2025. The project would add new housing and commercial uses in the east‑metro suburb, with city review and approvals expected as the plan advances.

Lakeville officials are reviewing a proposal for a roughly 390-acre development in the city’s southwest corner that could include up to 1,440 homes and substantial commercial space. The plan, reported Oct. 22, 2025, would significantly reshape land use and could impact housing supply, retail mix, and local services if approved.

Emerging developers have secured financing to build more than 600 housing units in Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal on Oct. 21, 2025. The funding advances multiple projects that would add significant new apartments/homes in both cities, marking a notable boost to the metro’s housing pipeline.

Five Wayzata rental owners have filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s September ordinance that bans short‑term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo, which is set to take effect next April. The suit argues the city failed to follow required procedures such as holding a public hearing and that the ordinance conflicts with city and state laws; plaintiffs are asking a judge to block enforcement so they can continue operating. The ordinance allows rentals only if they are 30 days or longer.

Greater Saint Paul BOMA’s 2025 Market Report, released Oct. 14, finds downtown St. Paul’s competitive office vacancy improved to about 31% from a peak above 32% last year, after rising from roughly 18% in 2020. BOMA president Tina Gassman says the district is stabilizing with public‑private efforts underway, while more than 1 million square feet left vacant by Madison Equities remains a major drag.

The City of Minneapolis is seeking a developer to revive the former Dania Hall site in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, a historically significant parcel where the 1886-built Danish cultural center was destroyed by fires in 1991 and 2000. The move signals a new push to redevelop the long-vacant site; formal solicitation details were not included in the preview.

The City of Minneapolis has issued a formal Request for Proposals this week for Phase One of the 'New Nicollet' redevelopment at Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue, the former Kmart site long blamed for severing the corridor. Phase One targets the southeast quadrant with subsidized and affordable apartments; bids are due in January 2026, with a developer to be approved later in 2026 and construction still several years away.

Meridian Pointe Apartments, a 339-unit complex in Burnsville (Dakota County), was sold in a $63 million transaction to a New York–based multifamily real-estate buyer, the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal reported on Oct. 9, 2025. The deal transfers ownership of a large metro rental property and could affect management, rents, or operations for the hundreds of tenants who live there.

A RentCafe report cited by the Twin Cities Business Journal on Oct. 2, 2025, shows rental demand in Twin Cities suburbs has surged, with about 12 prospective renters competing for each apartment that hits the market—up from 10 a year earlier—outpacing competition in many large U.S. markets. The increase signals tightening supply and growing pressure on affordability for metro-area renters across the Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs.

Weidner Acquisitions purchased a 13-story apartment building in downtown Minneapolis for $77 million and has rebranded the property The Grand Mill District Apartments. The sale, reported Oct. 1, 2025, expands Weidner’s Twin Cities portfolio and follows the building’s recent summer listing.

Nonprofits have acquired and are renovating hundreds of former Havenbrook rental properties in north Minneapolis after an Attorney General investigation and settlement over poor conditions. About 345 homes went to local nonprofits, roughly 110 have been renovated and sold to single-family buyers, and the AG secured roughly $2 million in payments plus about $2 million in rent forgiveness for affected tenants.

A woman shot during a Sept. 15 mass shooting at a homeless encampment near E. Lake St. and 28th Ave. S. in Minneapolis died Sept. 18; police identified her as 30-year-old Jacinda Oakgrove, while several others were wounded and tents caught fire during the gunfight. Investigators say the violence stemmed from a drug-territory dispute; Hennepin County prosecutors have charged Trivon D. Leonard Jr., 31, of Illinois, with first-degree riot resulting in death and illegal gun possession after he admitted firing before his gun jammed. The city has increased patrols and erected fencing along the corridor, and MPD is examining whether this shooting is connected to another Lake Street shooting earlier that day.

The St. Paul City Council voted 4-3 on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, to reject proposed 28.5% rent increases for properties on Ashland Avenue under the city’s rent stabilization framework. The decision directly affects tenants at the Ashland Avenue addresses and reflects the council’s oversight of large rent-hike requests.

On Sept. 24, 2025, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a ruling that expands eviction protections for renters who use housing vouchers or other rental subsidies, setting binding precedent for courts statewide, including Hennepin and Ramsey counties. The decision clarifies how judges must treat third‑party rental assistance in nonpayment and related eviction proceedings, directly affecting landlords and tenants across the Twin Cities.

MyPillow has put its Chaska headquarters up for sale and will relocate office functions to Shakopee, according to a Star Tribune report. The move consolidates operations within the Twin Cities metro across Carver and Scott counties; details on timing and employment impacts were not immediately disclosed.

Oppidan sold the Pillars of Prospect Park senior living community near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to Ventas for $140 million, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports on Sept. 23, 2025. The deal is described as one of the Twin Cities’ largest real estate transactions of the year, with the property’s unique features and partnerships cited as drivers of the price.

The City of Minneapolis says it will nominate the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder building, the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in North Minneapolis, and the former home of Harry Davis Sr. in South Minneapolis to the National Register of Historic Places. The effort, part of a city initiative begun in 2019 to document Black history, could open access to preservation grants and tax credits, with decisions expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

Falcon Heights and University of Minnesota officials drew a large crowd Tuesday night to discuss the future of the 141-acre Les Bolstad Golf Course, which the university plans to close for financial reasons. The city presented mixed-use concepts including affordable housing, green space, and small-scale retail, citing a study that the site could support 1,500–2,000 homes; the Planning Commission is set to vote next Tuesday on a community feedback report to guide next steps with the university and developers.

Urban farm activists seeking to buy Minneapolis’ Roof Depot industrial site in the East Phillips neighborhood missed a city-imposed deadline to complete the purchase. The lapse puts the future of the long-disputed site back in the City of Minneapolis’ hands as officials determine next steps for the property.