West Hennepin Affordable Housing Land Tr

THE ORGANIZATION PROVIDES PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOW TO MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES WITHIN SUBURBAN HENNEPIN COUNTY.

WEST HENNEPIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING LAND TRUST (WHAHLT) DBA HOMES WITHIN REACH (HWR) WAS CREATED IN MAY 2001; A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST WHOSE SERVICE AREA IS THE 44 COMMUNITIES OF SUBURBAN HENNEPIN COUNTY; AND CURRENTLY ACTIVE IN FOURTEEN (14) COMMUNITIES IN THE SUBURBS OF HENNEPIN COUNTY.WEST HENNEPIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING LAND TRUST VISION IS TO TRANSFORM PEOPLE'S LIVES THROUGH HOMEOWNERSHIP. THE MISSION IS TO USE THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST PRACTICE TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR WORKING FAMILIES THAT WOULD BE OTHERWISE UNABLE TO PURCHASE A HOME IN THE HENNEPIN SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES, OFFERING BOTH COMMUNITIES AND HOMEBUYERS THE ABILITY TO SUSTAIN PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP.WEST HENNEPIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING LAND TRUST (WHAHLT) DBA HOMES WITHIN REACH (HWR) HAS IMPLEMENTED THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST PRACTICE IN FOURTEEN (14) HENNEPIN COUNTY SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES SINCE THE SPRING OF 2002. WHAHLT WAS CREATED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF HOMEOWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST FOR WORKING HOUSEHOLDS IN SUBURBAN HENNEPIN COUNTY.THE MISSION IS TO USE THE COMMUNITY LAND PRACTICE TO PROVIDE PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE OWNERSHIP HOUSING FOR FAMILIES THAT WOULD BE OTHERWISE UNABLE TO BUY A HOME IN THE SUBURBAN HENNEPIN COMMUNITIES, OFFERING BOTH COMMUNITIES AND HOMEBUYERS THE ABILITY TO SUSTAIN LONGTERM AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIPTHIS IS ACHIEVED BY ACQUIRING THE OWNERSHIP OF REAL PROPERTY, REHABILITATING AND THEN SELLING THE IMPROVEMENTS (HOME) TO HOMEOWNERS EARNING LESS THAN 80% AREA MEDIAN INCOME. THIS ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE HOMEOWNER AND HWR PROTECTS HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN PERPETUITY BY ENSURING THAT THE HOME IS AFFORDABLE FOR LOW TO MODERATE INCOME WORKFORCE HOUSEHOLDS UPON THE SALE AND FUTURE SALES OF A SINGLEFAMILY HOME.AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2021, WHAHLT HAS PLACED 174 PROPERTIES INTO ITS TRUST SINCE IT BEGAN CREATING AND PRESERVING AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP AND HAS ASSISTED 210 FAMILIES IN PURCHASING A HOMES IN THE COMMUNITIES OF BLOOMINGTON, BROOKLYN PARK, CRYSTAL, DEEPHAVEN, EDINA, EDEN PRAIRIE, GOLDEN VALLEY, MAPLE GROVE, MINNETONKA, NEW HOPE, PLYMOUTH, RICHFIELD, ST. LOUIS PARK AND WAYZATA. THE REASON FOR GROWING IN THESE SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES IS THAT EACH ONE OF THESE CITIES HAS DEMONSTRATED A WILLINGNESS TO COLLABORATE WITH WHAHLT IN CREATING AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP. THE PROGRAM OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR WORKFORCE HOUSEHOLDS TO BECOME HOMEOWNERS, WHICH IN TURN STABILIZES THE FAMILY UNIT, ADDS VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY WHERE THEY WORK OR LIVE, BY INCREASING THE LABOR POOL TO LOCAL BUSINESSES, ADDING NEW FAMILIES TO THE COMMUNITY, PRESERVING AND REHABILITATING OF EXISTING HOUSING STOCK AND PROVIDING A MECHANISM TO INVEST IN LONGTERM AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP, THEREBY LINKING HOUSING WITH JOBS, TRANSIT AND SUPPORT SERVICES.