The rehab of Southview Estates, an affordable apartment building, has its final agreements in place. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Bloomington Housing and Redevelopment Authority voted 7-0 to approve its consent agenda, and the "Southview Estates Rehabilitation Project Final Agreements" were part of it. Consent agendas are for business the board considers routine, and the vote shows the project no longer needed a debate. That's the board's last big step before the work itself.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNCommissioners pass the consent agenda 7-0, including the Southview final agreements, with no item pulled for discussion.10/13
The published agenda listed only the item's title, with no staff report attached. That means the dollar amounts and the exact parties to the signed agreements still aren't public. "Final agreements" usually means the HRA is locking in the contracts that move public money to a project. It's the step that turns earlier commitments into signed documents.
The project has been in front of public funders for a while. In January 2025, the Metropolitan Council awarded it a $700,000 Livable Communities grant through its Local Housing Incentives program to pay for a substantial rehab of the 47-unit building. Under the grant, 37 existing affordable units stay affordable and 10 units that had no rent limits get them. That makes every unit affordable to households earning 60% of area median income or less. The Met Council said the building serves large families, families with children, high-priority homeless individuals and people with disabilities. Lisa Barajas, who heads the Met Council's community development division, was frank about the scale: "While these units represent a small fraction of the overall number this region needs to house our lower-income population, every step of progress we make is important." That round gave out $2.5 million across Bloomington, Medina, Minneapolis and Richfield.
The HRA's own role goes back further than that grant. When staff brought Southview back to the board in February 2026, the presenter said it wasn't the first time the board had seen the project. In July 2024, commissioners had discussed deferring a loan and providing a local match as one of the project's funding sources.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNStaff present Southview Estates and remind commissioners the HRA first discussed a loan deferral and local match in July 2024.02/24
Some of the local money comes from the state. Local Affordable Housing Aid, or LAHA, is the state's affordable housing money for cities. In June, commissioners heard that Southview already had a commitment of LAHA dollars. Staff said they expect Bloomington to receive about $1.4 million a year from that pot.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNCommissioners ask how Southview's LAHA commitment fits into the roughly $1.4 million the city expects each year.06/09
The same aid came up again later in Tuesday's meeting. Staff were walking through a separate request to use LAHA for The Heights rehabilitation project, and they listed Southview Estates among the projects that the aid has already been spent on or committed to through board resolutions. The same consent vote also included resolutions supporting the city's applications for Met Council Livable Communities Demonstration Account grants.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNDuring the LAHA discussion, staff name Southview Estates among the projects the aid has already been spent on or committed to.10/13
What's left is executing the agreements and starting the rehab itself, and we'll update this story when construction timing or the agreement details become public. For questions about the project, residents can contact the HRA at 952-563-8937 or [email protected].
From the meeting: Housing and Redevelopment Authority Meeting, October 13, 2026.
