Minneapolis - St. Paul Metro

The city of Minneapolis is taking advantage of a workaround to a federal rule blocking the construction of new public housing units.

The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority will use federal, state and local funds to construct 15 new affordable apartments as part of a larger renovation of Spring Manor, a 221-unit public housing complex in northeast Minneapolis.

It’s one of about 15 projects nationwide using a new federal funding program to work around the restrictions imposed by the Faircloth Amendment, which effectively froze the number of public housing units any one public housing authority can manage in 1999.

The $65 million project is the largest rehab project in MPHA history. Residents have long asked city and state leaders to fix up the 57-year-old high rise, which has dilapidated floors, poor ventilation and dysfunctional air conditioning, according to residents and local representatives.

“You had me over last year — you put my feet to the fire,” Ward 3 Council Member Michael Rainville told residents in the audience at a Tuesday press conference.

For the existing buildings, MPHA will replace and improve plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning systems; upgrade kitchens, bathrooms, appliances and finishes; rework the ventilation system; add accessibility features to some units; and repair windows and roofs.

The agency will also construct a four-story addition, which will contain a gym, office space, internet lounge, bike storage and community space on the first floor. The top three floors will house residents in nine one-bedroom and six two-bedroom disability accessible units.

“When this project is done, these spaces will be worthy of the people who live here,” said U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., at the Tuesday press conference.

Smith introduced legislation last month that would repeal the Faircloth Amendment and create a new department within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund and develop affordable housing.

The $65 million price tag will be paid for with a complex scheme of federal, state, city and MPHA funds. It will only make a small dents — around $10 million — in MPHA’s $260 million maintenance backlog.