The recently announced delay to housing construction at the former Hillcrest Golf Course in St. Paul underscores a critical issue: We cannot subsidize our way to more affordable housing. The Heights, a new mixed-use low-carbon community, was recently touted as an answer to Minnesota’s housing needs by its backers.
This claim is far from accurate. Despite my enthusiasm and support for this project as a member of the City’s Planning Commission, it is clear that relying heavily on public subsidies is not a sustainable solution to affordable housing. While projects like The Heights can occasionally proceed, they are far from addressing our broader housing needs.
Instead, we need to implement zoning and building code changes, such as those at the state Legislature that failed to pass this year, and remove restrictive requirements such as parking mandates, large lot size minimums, and restrictive setbacks. Additionally, reducing the impact of increasing municipal fee burdens on new developments is essential. The Heights project requires over $120 million in public subsidies (including $73 million from the state, $43 million from the city, and $2.
5 million from the Port Authority) and its viability is contingent on funds that even a supportive DFL trifecta could not secure. Funding projects like these is a complex, time-consuming and uncertain endeavor reliant on a number of other small public grants. For example: In addition to the above, The Heights has also received a variety.
