Bonding bill includes funds for affordable housing

The bonding bill Minnesota lawmakers passed Tuesday includes more than $35 million for affordable housing.

Some of the money will be used to fix up deteriorated public housing units across the state. The remaining, about $30 million dollars, will be spread among a variety of housing agencies, said Liz Kuoppala, executive director of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless.

"We don't know yet which projects will get the funds, but we had folks come and talk about the projects they had ready to go, and if they had more money they could finish them up," Kuoppala said.

An additional $2 million in bond funds will pay for improvements to the Tubman Center East domestic violence shelter in Maplewood.

The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency will decide what other projects will be funded, Kuoppala said. Eligible projects include a facility for young people in Duluth and homes for veterans in St. Paul and St. Cloud.

"This bonding bill really has the flexibility to do the kinds of housing we need for a variety of populations in a variety of communities," Kuoppala said. "We're very excited that it had huge bipartisan support from across the state."

Governor Dayton has indicated he'll sign the bonding bill.