Saint Paul Public Housing Agency Observes an Invaluable Partnership with FHLB Des Moines

last updated on Monday, November 21, 2022 in Community News

This year marks the 90th anniversary of The FHLBank System. Like any major milestone, 2022 provides an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved through FHLB Des Moines’ assistance. 

FHLB Des Moines has become an invaluable partner for the Saint Paul Public Housing Agency (SPPHA), which serves a portion of a sprawling community of nearly 3 million Minnesotans. SPPHA’s mission is to help families and individuals with low incomes achieve greater stability and self-reliance by providing safe, affordable, and quality housing and links to community services. Our agency houses roughly three percent of St. Paul’s 318,000 residents – and we would not have been able to modernize our housing stock at the rate and level we have without Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant funds from FHLB Des Moines.

Saint Paul Public Housing Authority’s purview includes ownership and maintenance of sixteen hi-rises, eight of which recently received major upgrades, including plumbing replacement, unit modernization, and overhauled elevators. We might not have been able to complete even half of those projects without FHLB Des Moines’ assistance. By utilizing AHP funds from FHLB Des Moines, SPPHA is ahead on its current timeline for modernization efforts.
Completely new elevators are essential to our disabled and senior residents who call our buildings home. This allows them to more easily and safely navigate the buildings, access outdoors to attend doctor appointments and socialize, and connect with community services. 

FHLB Des Moines’ AHP awards also directly allowed our team to update the plumbing systems and completely modernize three hi-rises in 2016, 2018 and 2019. SPPHA was able to spend one to two months in each unit, replacing the plumbing, upgrading kitchen cabinets, adding new fixtures, updating the bathroom, repainting the unit, and replacing floors. Seeing the expressions on residents’ faces once they were cleared to move back in made it all worth it. They couldn’t believe what it looked like before after seeing what it looks like now. That was a pretty neat thing to experience. It makes a big difference to the residents when it's completed, they just love it. It's almost as if they're moving into a new apartment. FHLB Des Moines funding makes an impact beyond just the dollars and cents. It is what it means to the individuals that call our buildings home.

We congratulate them on their impressive 90th anniversary and we are grateful for the support they have shown us over the years. SPPHA is confident that with this key partnership, we can continue to make lasting impacts on our community for years to come.
 

Article Submitted By:

Brent Feller

Construction Program Manager

Saint Paul Public Housing Agency