Top U.S. housing official to tour Minneapolis foreclosures

The federal government's top housing official will meet with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak this morning for a tour of foreclosed homes in the city.

Rybak and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan will tour two Northside areas where foreclosed homes have been purchased by the city or non-profits in an effort to stabilize the neighborhoods. The homes are located on Lyndale Avenue and another on James Avenue.

In 2008, Minneapolis received $14 million in HUD funding under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which provides emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities.

The city is also working with the First Look Program, a national initiative to help facilitate the collaboration between national financial institutions and local efforts to restore neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosure.

Since November, the city has purchased more than 160 homes under the First Look program.

The city estimates nearly 3,000 properties will face foreclosure in 2009. That's about the same amount as in 2008.

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