OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Housing & Redevelopment Authority Meeting - July 8, 2026

Budget Committee — Wednesday, July 8, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionBudget Committee
DateWednesday, July 8, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 18:32

Transcript — Verbatim
1:01

Um, um, uh, um, uh, uh, roll call, please.

2:02

Coleman here, Joe, Kim.

2:05

Here, Naker.

2:06

Here.

2:07

Yang, here, Chair Johnson.

2:09

Here.

2:10

Six in favor, one, or I'm sorry, six present, one absent, and Commissioner Bowie is excused.

2:17

Item number one is MIN twenty-six-21.

2:21

Approval of the June twenty twenty-six HRA meeting minutes.

2:26

All right, I trust that everyone has had a chance to view the to review the meeting minutes for June.

2:31

I'll take a motion from Vice Chair Jose to approve all those in favor.

2:36

I all opposed.

2:38

Six in favor, zero opposed.

2:40

The minutes are approved.

2:42

Item number two is staff report SR 26-134, introduction to requested TWV limited partnership loan amendment.

2:53

District three ward two.

2:54

All right, we have two staff reports that uh need to get in front of us, they'll come back for action on the 22nd.

3:00

Um, I'll hand it over to Director McMahon.

3:03

Thank you, Chair Commissioners.

3:04

We have Lily Logston here to present on this item for um introduction to the moment of parentship.

3:12

Hello, welcome, Miss Lawson.

3:14

Thank you.

3:15

Um apologies, I just sprinted over here from the annex, so I'm a little out of breath.

3:22

Um, but Chair Johnson, commissioners.

3:26

Um my name is Libby Logson.

3:29

I am a senior project manager um on PED's multifamily housing finance team.

3:34

And today we are uh going to discuss the requested TWV limited partnership loan amendment.

3:40

If you need a if you need a middle missloc, take it.

3:43

You can take we can pause for a second, we can you know I can fill it with beautiful uh pieces around the staff to report.

3:50

Um, you know, yes, we have water back in the building.

3:55

You know, it's welcome.

3:56

I want to give folks an opportunity to be able to catch their breath.

4:00

No problem so much.

4:01

We definitely empathize having to uh go back and forth today between here and Osborne.

4:05

So you're looking listen, I I was like I know I'm the first idea.

4:09

Gotta go over there.

4:11

Um but thank you so much.

4:13

I uh have my breath now.

4:14

So we can see wonderful.

4:17

Um so TWV is a um a combination of three different common bond properties.

4:24

So the T stands for Torre Day San Miguel, which is 142 units, um located in district three, Westminster Place is ninety-nine units located in District Five, and Vista Village is 48 units located in District three.

4:40

So back in 2006, these three projects um were underwritten together because it was advantageous to all the projects to be underwritten together at that point in time.

4:52

Um, and as dollar wear, lots of things change um within the development.

4:59

Um over the last 20 years.

5:00

And so at this point, it is unfortunately not advantageous for the three projects to be grouped as one under TWV limited partnership.

5:11

Tory being the largest was selected to kind of go out on its own for funding, and it also had the biggest rehabilitation needs.

5:21

And Tory has now secured all necessary funding and is proceeding to a November 2026 financial close.

5:31

And then the other two projects, as you might remember from a couple weeks ago, there was a reservation for a million dollars for the Minnesota housing application for Westminster and Vista.

5:45

And those applications are due tomorrow.

5:47

So I think they are well on their way to having that be submitted.

5:54

So just to geographically place where we are, the um the property that's furthest north, that is Westminster Place.

6:04

The property that is further south is Vista Village, and then the property that is just north of the furthest south is Torre Day San Miguel.

6:14

And the developers Common Bond, over 55 years of experience as a nonprofit owner and developer, they've owned these properties since at least 2006, but a fairly uh well-known entity in the affordable housing space.

6:29

And this request is coming right now, because of what I mentioned before that Tory is proceeding to financial close for a rehabilitation.

6:39

Um and so their request is to essentially keep TWV limited partnership, but remove Tory as collateral from the original CDBG loan.

6:50

And the purpose of this is that this being done now helps to decrease the cost and complexity of the financing as we move towards closing.

7:01

If this were to happen at the same time as financial close, the lender would think about this deal as being more risky because it's essentially like a two-step process instead of a one-step process, and um at that point there would be cancellation of debt income fees as well.

7:21

Um so it's really to decrease the cost of compliance on the project and decrease the compliance requirements that take a lot of time and then also money.

7:33

So um, and we found out yesterday actually that the HRA CDBG loan is actually in the first lien position.

7:41

So these slides are um a bit inaccurate, but it's actually even less risk for the HRA in this.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████66%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████21%
Procedural██████9%
Parks and Recreation███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Housing & Redevelopment Authority Meeting - July 8, 2026

The Saint Paul Housing & Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Board of Commissioners met on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at 2:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting lasted approximately 16 minutes and included the approval of previous meeting minutes and two staff report introductions. No public comments were heard. The meeting was chaired by Chair Cheniqua Johnson, with six commissioners present and one absent (Commissioner Anika Bowie, excused).

Approval of Minutes

  • Minutes 26-21: The minutes from the June 2026 HRA meetings (June 3, 10, and 24) were approved unanimously (6-0, with one absence).

Discussion Items

  • Staff Report SR 26-134 – TWV Limited Partnership Loan Amendment (District 3, Ward 2):

    • Senior Project Manager Libby Logsden presented a request to modify a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) loan originally made to TWV Limited Partnership, a grouping of three affordable housing properties: Torre Day San Miguel (142 units), Westminster Place (99 units), and Vista Village (48 units).
    • The loan was originally $275,000 and has grown to approximately $727,000 with accrued interest. It is a deferred loan, with no payments made to date, maturing in 2042.
    • The request is to remove Torre Day San Miguel as collateral from the loan so that it can proceed to a November 2026 financial close for major rehabilitation, while keeping Westminster Place and Vista Village as collateral. The developer, Common Bond, is not seeking loan forgiveness for the interest portion at this time, but such a request is anticipated in the future.
    • The HRA discovered that its loan is actually in the first lien position (not second as previously thought), reducing risk. The estimated loan-to-value ratio is about 5.65% with the HRA in first position, compared to 15.5% if it were second position.
    • Commissioner Noecker asked questions about the impact on the other two properties and repayment terms. Staff clarified that removing Torre does not affect operations of the others and that the deferred loan structure means principal is typically carried but not paid as long as affordability terms are met.
    • The staff recommendation is to approve the amendment; the item will return for action on July 22.

  • Staff Report SR 26-136 – Three-Year Lease with Union Pacific Railroad for 43 Water Street (District 3, Ward 2):

    • Executive Director Melanie McMahon presented a proposed three-year lease with Union Pacific Railroad for exclusive use of an HRA-owned gravel parking lot at 43 Water Street (five parcels). The lot is currently managed by Trans Park Inc. and generates about $11,000 annually in parking revenue.
    • Union Pacific will use the site for construction trailer and employee parking during the reconstruction of the Mississippi River Lift Bridge. The project will take three years, with rail and marine traffic remaining in service. Construction equipment will be brought in by barge.
    • Lease terms: $1,600 per month rent ($19,200 annually) – an increase from current parking revenue. Union Pacific will also be responsible for site maintenance and security during the lease.
    • The lot lacks adequate stormwater systems and would require significant capital investment to continue as a parking lot. The West Side Flats Master Plan designates the area as future parkland. After the lease, the HRA intends to convey the property to the city's Parks Department (subject to future HRA approval).
    • The item will return for action on July 22 (not August 5 as noted in a slide).

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: Unanimously (6-0).
  • Staff Reports Received and Filed: Both the TWV loan amendment and Union Pacific lease introductions were received and filed; they will be brought back for formal action at the July 22 HRA meeting.
  • Next Meeting: July 22, 2026 (the last HRA meeting for July; no meeting on July 15 or August 5).
  • Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 2:18 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Um, um, uh, um, uh, uh, roll call, please. Coleman here, Joe, Kim. Here, Naker. Here. Yang, here, Chair Johnson. Here. Six in favor, one, or I'm sorry, six present, one absent, and Commissioner Bowie is excused. Item number one is MIN twenty-six-21. Approval of the June twenty twenty-six HRA meeting minutes. All right, I trust that everyone has had a chance to view the to review the meeting minutes for June. I'll take a motion from Vice Chair Jose to approve all those in favor. I all opposed. Six in favor, zero opposed. The minutes are approved. Item number two is staff report SR 26-134, introduction to requested TWV limited partnership loan amendment. District three ward two. All right, we have two staff reports that uh need to get in front of us, they'll come back for action on the 22nd. Um, I'll hand it over to Director McMahon. Thank you, Chair Commissioners. We have Lily Logston here to present on this item for um introduction to the moment of parentship. Hello, welcome, Miss Lawson. Thank you. Um apologies, I just sprinted over here from the annex, so I'm a little out of breath. Um, but Chair Johnson, commissioners. Um my name is Libby Logson. I am a senior project manager um on PED's multifamily housing finance team. And today we are uh going to discuss the requested TWV limited partnership loan amendment. If you need a if you need a middle missloc, take it. You can take we can pause for a second, we can you know I can fill it with beautiful uh pieces around the staff to report. Um, you know, yes, we have water back in the building. You know, it's welcome. I want to give folks an opportunity to be able to catch their breath. No problem so much. We definitely empathize having to uh go back and forth today between here and Osborne. So you're looking listen, I I was like I know I'm the first idea. Gotta go over there. Um but thank you so much. I uh have my breath now. So we can see wonderful. Um so TWV is a um a combination of three different common bond properties. So the T stands for Torre Day San Miguel, which is 142 units, um located in district three, Westminster Place is ninety-nine units located in District Five, and Vista Village is 48 units located in District three. So back in 2006, these three projects um were underwritten together because it was advantageous to all the projects to be underwritten together at that point in time. Um, and as dollar wear, lots of things change um within the development. Um over the last 20 years. And so at this point, it is unfortunately not advantageous for the three projects to be grouped as one under TWV limited partnership. Tory being the largest was selected to kind of go out on its own for funding, and it also had the biggest rehabilitation needs. And Tory has now secured all necessary funding and is proceeding to a November 2026 financial close. And then the other two projects, as you might remember from a couple weeks ago, there was a reservation for a million dollars for the Minnesota housing application for Westminster and Vista. And those applications are due tomorrow. So I think they are well on their way to having that be submitted.

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