FLATTENING THE CURVE–as Health Organizations, State/Local governments, schools, and businesses are working to make decisions to keep our community as safe as possible we, too, strive to find the right balance of doing our work while also taking the health of our staff, clients/residents, and the public, seriously. Below are some of the steps we are taking to slow the…
Family Sleeps Easy with FISH (Families and Individuals Sharing Hope)
By Evie, Housing Specialist I was asked to tell a story today. A story about my tenant who I eventually found was one of the strongest mothers I have met. I will start from the beginning…I came to work like any other day and turned my computer on. Step 1. Open email – on this day I found an email…
Family Self Sufficiency Graduate Success!
Jamal and Muna* live in a Scott County Community with their five children, ages 6 to 17. They have worked hard over the past 10 years to improve their economic situation and become self-sufficient. This family started living in a CDA project-based unit in 2010, and in 2013 they were able to receive a Housing Choice Voucher, which enabled them…
College Bound with Scholarships
It’s back to school for three diligent students that have received educational scholarships for their first year of college either directly through the CDA or from a sponsoring agency. Read more about their story.
Press: Scott County Scene
First-time homebuyers Scott and Anna Bode were recently featured in Scott County Scene in a story about their experience with our first-time homebuyer programs. Take a moment and read the article here.
What are Community Land Trusts?
Community land trusts, sometimes referred to as CLT’s, are a powerful means to counter to a red-hot real estate market. All too often, during times of exponential growth lower wage earners are left with few options to be able to afford a home of their own. We all know encouraging homeownership creates a variety of economic and community benefits, and…
Brentwood Court: 55+ Apartments
Like many of our communities across Scott County, Jordan has experienced vast growth throughout the past decade. Yet as a healthy city of 7,000, Jordan had a need for elements that help make a community thrive.
Rural Development
The affordable housing crisis can impact those living in rural areas the hardest. Properties located outside of urban centers can often be neglected due to a lack of financial investment, as many developers are attracted to larger areas where the potential for return on investment is higher, and state and federal resources allocated to rural areas lack the level of investment needed to keep up with the growing needs. Yet, at the same time, these areas are home to some of our lowest income seniors and families.
Accommodating Growth
In the early 2000s, Scott County was the fastest growing county in Minnesota, adding nearly 5,000 jobs and experiencing a population growth of 10%. While exciting for the economy, we faced a number of factors that made this growth a challenge: 44% of households that rent are considered cost burdened. Vacancy rates below 5% indicate pent-up demand and make the…
Scott County’s FAST-TRACK Challenge
Last year at this time, Melanie Cole and Vicky DeRouchey, of Prior Lake, were busy preparing their application for the Scott County FAST-TRACK Business Challenge. This year, the co-founders of ugo wear have been busy preparing a video hoping to advance to the third round of auditions for the Emmy Award-winning entrepreneur television show Shark Tank.