HRDC Housing Services
One of the barriers to housing production is the lack of developers willing to take risks in the smaller communities in our Region and the difficultly in serving the low and moderate income niche. The HRDC is statutorily prohibited from owning development property so in 1998 the HRDC sought legislative action to form a non – profit housing development corporation specifically to deal with an inadequate supply of affordable housing throughout the Region. The Headwaters Housing Development Corporation (HHDC) was formed and has been providing Region-wide services since that time.
In addition, the HRDC provides staffing services, under contract, to the Beltrami County HRA. This arrangements allow the organization to secure a staff team of experts in various disciplines at a fraction of the cost of hiring staff directly. This allows them to use their resources to more fully attend to the critical housing needs in the County.
For almost twenty years the HRDC has assisted Counties in the Region receive an annual allocation of low interest mortgage financing through the Minnesota Housing Financing Agency’s Minnesota Cities Participation Program (MCPP). Loans are made available through participating local lenders.
Finally, HRDC staff accessed gap financing resources from MN Housing Finance Agency and Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and the Wells Fargo Foundation to help moderate income families get into homes that they would otherwise be unable to afford.