More than 4,000 volunteers will take part in the first wave of construction at a housing development financed by the city of St. Paul this week.
Habitat for Humanity chose the Twin Cities as its location for the 40th annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, which brings together thousands of volunteers, including some celebrities and elected officials, to build homes and advocate for affordable housing.
The Carter Work Project coincides with the beginning of construction of The Heights, a $370 million housing development and business park at the site of the former Hillcrest Golf Course in the Greater East Side of St. Paul. The Heights is the largest development in the history of Habitat for Humanity Twin Cities.
The project is expected to create over 1,000 housing units, including more than 100 single family homes, townhomes, triplexes and fourplexes built by Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers will work on 30 Habitat for Humanity homes this week during the Carter Work Project.
Sherman Associates, the lead developer for The Heights, will construct an apartment complex with around 900 units; JO Companies, another Twin Cities housing developer, will build between 110 and 230 apartments.
The new apartments are needed; the Twin Cities region needs to add nearly 65,000 affordable and available rental units in order to alleviate all households that are burdened by the cost of housing, defined as those spending more than 30% of their income on rent, according to research by Minnesota Housing Partnership.
