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Arden Hills notes • July 2022 • 1
<br />The Official City Newsletter for Arden Hills Residents July 2022
<br />Affordable Housing in Arden Hills
<br />An aspect of Arden Hills that makes it a great city to live in
<br />is its varied mix of housing stock that offers many affordable
<br />options from starter homes to senior living residences. The
<br />Metropolitan Council is tasked with defining and tracking
<br />affordable housing in the metro area. Affordable housing is
<br />defined by the Met Council as housing that is affordable to
<br />households that earn 80% or less of the Area Median Income
<br />(AMI). Per the Met Council in 2021, 80% of the AMI for a
<br />family of four was $89,400, meaning it was calculated that
<br />a family in such a situation could afford a house worth up to
<br />$355,600. Affordable housing can occur naturally based on
<br />a number of factors, but new affordable housing is generally
<br />paid for with public subsidies and/or tax breaks coming from
<br />Federal, State, or Local governments, which can result in tax
<br />increases for taxpayers.
<br />The Met Council’s most recent affordable housing study is
<br />based on 2019 data. At that time, approximately 40% of the
<br />houses in Arden Hills were considered affordable. Arden
<br />Hills had 3,277 housing units, 1,298 of which fell within the
<br />category of “Affordable Housing,” as previously defined. Of
<br />those 1,298 affordable units, 347 units (27%) were affordable
<br />at 80% of AMI, 468 (36%) were affordable for AMIs between
<br />60% and 31%, and 483 units (37%) were affordable at AMIs
<br />less than 30%. Units that are affordable at 30% or under are
<br />considered “deeply affordable.” Different housing styles and
<br />affordability levels are scattered throughout Arden Hills.
<br />An easy way to understand the context of affordable housing
<br />is by looking at neighboring cities. You may not know that
<br />15% of Arden Hills’ total housing units are considered “deeply
<br />affordable” to households with incomes that are 30% of the
<br />AMI. In comparison, 4% of St Anthony’s housing stock can
<br />also be considered “deeply affordable,” 6% of Shoreview, 8%
<br />of Vadnais Heights, 8% of Roseville, 10% of New Brighton,
<br />19% of Mounds View, and 22% of Little Canada. Arden Hills
<br />is among the top three cities with the highest percentages of
<br />deeply affordable housing in the surrounding north Ramsey
<br />County area.
<br />The Met Council ranks cities based on the affordability of
<br />infrastructure built in the past ten years. Cities with high
<br />growth, new construction, or high preservation/rehabilitation
<br />will generally receive higher scores than those that do not have
<br />as much growth. For a fully built-out city like Arden Hills,
<br />the score will generally be lower. For example, in the last few
<br />years Shoreview built 1,005 new townhouses and apartments
<br />which increased their Met Council Housing Performance Data retrieved from the Metropolitan Council 2019 housing stock estimates.
<br />Score; however, only 46 of those units, or 5%, were
<br />considered affordable. Of those 46 units, 38 of the units were
<br />affordable at 80% of AMI and the remaining 8 units affordable
<br />at 60% of the AMI.
<br />Although Arden Hills has not seen similar growth in the past
<br />decade, the Rice Creek Commons project, also known as
<br />TCAAP, is poised to bring significant affordability to the City.
<br />The recently approved term sheet between the City and the
<br />developer, Alatus, calls for 1,460 housing units, 326 (22%)
<br />of which will be affordable. Of the 326 units, 180 units are
<br />planned to be affordable at 50% and 60% of the AMI for
<br />Ramsey County. These affordable units will become a reality
<br />when the County and developer reach an agreement and the
<br />County begins to sell the vacant land to the developer to begin
<br />construction.
<br />The City of Arden Hills, like all metro cities, has an
<br />established Comprehensive Plan that is updated every
<br />ten years. The most recent plan, adopted in 2019, acts as
<br />a developmental roadmap for the next twenty years. The
<br />current plan sets a goal for 373 additional affordable units in
<br />Arden Hills. The recent agreement on Rice Creek Commons
<br />brings the City closer to the goal outlined in the recent
<br />Comprehensive Plan, and substantially increases housing, and
<br />affordable housing, in the area. The City Council will continue
<br />to pursue goals and policies that make Arden Hills a great
<br />place for all to live, work, and play.
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