The Why

North Star Neighbors, a community land trust, aims to develop more affordable housing in Northwest Minnesota. As the Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) rolled out its current strategic framework in 2018, it included a goal to lead regional efforts and community solutions focused on housing. The intention was to provide a mix of lending and grants to assist housing development throughout the region, specifically addressing workforce, affordable, and transitional housing needs. In the years since, we’ve learned a lot. Most notably, what we’ve learned is that our neighbors throughout Northwest Minnesota are simply unable to afford the homes at the costs developers have to sell them at. Housing costs are outpacing the rise in wages. The Federal Finance Housing Agency reports that home prices rose 74 percent from 2010 to 2022. The typical starter home can cost upwards of $300,000. With the intention of addressing housing needs, the NMF Board of Directors earlier this year established North Star Neighbors, a community land trust that will provide affordable home ownership opportunities for low- to moderate-income households, while addressing disparities in homeownership for underrepresented households.