Ramsey County CED highlights target homeownership supports, equity metrics and developer pipeline

Director Josh Olson told the Ramsey County Budget Committee that the Community and Economic Development Department has refocused homeownership programs to better align with equity priorities and local market realities. "We support about 50 families a year" through down‑payment assistance, Olson said, adding that homeowner rehab serves roughly 30 residents and that the down‑payment program is funded largely by the HRA levy while rehab uses federal funds.

Olson described program changes after a department evaluation and noted a 2024 Federal Reserve Bank finding that the Minneapolis–Saint Paul MSA showed a 46.9% Black–white homeownership gap. He said the county has invested in measures to expand access to neighborhoods of opportunity and to link supply-side projects to homeownership supports. The county has invested more than $100,000,000 across 106 projects in the past five years, creating over 5,500 residential units and roughly 1,900 deeply affordable units at or below 38% AMI, Olson said.

Commissioners asked for more context tying program participation to broader homeownership trends and city programs. Commissioner Jevonsing asked whether metrics report program participants as a share of shifting demographics; Olson said CED can provide overlapping demographic grounding and that the department is improving data systems to track longer term outcomes. County Manager Becker and others cautioned that previous production increases were aided by one‑time funding (American Rescue Plan, LAHA, HRA levy) and urged focus on sustaining recurring resources.