Former Eagle Bend School to be Redeveloped with $4.31M in State Housing Funds

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The effort to redevelop the former Eagle Bend School building has reached an important milestone with the award of $4.31 million in agency deferred loans through Minnesota Housing. This type of public financing will help reduce upfront costs and keep rents affordable for the complex redevelopment project.

Why it matters

The Eagle Bend project is part of a broader statewide funding package approved by Minnesota Housing, supporting the creation or preservation of 1,424 affordable homes across Minnesota. Redeveloping underutilized properties like the former Eagle Bend School is crucial to addressing housing affordability challenges, especially in Greater Minnesota communities.

The details

The $4.31 million in agency deferred loans awarded to the Eagle Bend project are a form of public financing that does not require immediate repayment. Instead, repayment is typically deferred for several decades and is only triggered if the property is sold, refinanced or no longer used for its intended affordable-housing purpose. This type of financing helps reduce upfront costs for complex redevelopment projects and is commonly used to keep rent affordable while allowing historically significant or challenging properties to be reused.

• In December, the Minnesota Housing's board of directors approved the $166 million funding package for 51 housing developments across the state.
• The Eagle Bend project was included in this broader statewide funding package.