Editorial: A need for more housing

Talk about it

The City of Worthington and Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership (SWMHP) are again teaming up to better rental opportunities for this community.

The Worthington City Council has gotten behind a plan from SWMHP that, if funded through the Minnesota Housing Agency’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, will result in the construction of a new 24-unit rental housing development. The project would require that 21 of those units be specifically for people or families who make 60 percent or less than the Area Median Income.

Seeing that the city has to utilize its current Small Cities Development Grant dollars for housing-related expenditures, it seems like any financial contribution — in this case, a $10,000 gift and a $10,000 deferred loan — makes sense. Although concerns have been raised about offering assistance to the project — and not, for example, to other private landlords in the community — the fact of the matter is Worthington remains in dire need of affordable housing.

The more opportunities we give to people to live here, the better chance they have at contributing to this city in other ways. Considering SWMHP also did a highly commendable job in transforming Viking Terrace, the entity seems well worth getting behind for this type of endeavor. We commend SWMHP for its vision, and the city for its support.

Tags: opinion, swmhp, worthington, city, council, affordable, housing