Program Contact
Jerica Gomez - jerica.gomez@co.ramsey.mn.us (Send Email)

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B.  Requirements

Eligible Housing Type and Projects (Pass/Fail) 

1. Permanent general occupancy rental housing for low to moderate-income renters with a minimum of two units; OR,
2. The new construction of owner-occupied housing for low-to-moderate income homeownership. (The acquisition and resale of an existing owner-occupied home is not an eligible use.); AND/OR
3. Pre-development activities for the development of permanent housing for low-to-moderate income residents that result in “soft costs” for professional services;

Eligible Soft Costs:

• Architectural fees.  
• Engineering fees.
• Consulting fees.
• Environmental assessments.
• Legal Consulting.
• Market analysis.
• Administrative costs for loan commitments.
• Zoning approvals and land-use application fees. 
• Permitting fees. 

(Pass/Fail) Materials

The application will not move onto scoring without the following required materials submitted in ZoomGrants:

1. Eligible Housing Type
2. Multifamily workbook including all required information (Excel format);
3. Responses to the “Ramsey County Equitable Development and Livability” questions (Attachment A);
4. Acknowledgement letter (Attachment B); and
5. Lobby Certification Form (Attachment C).
6. Project Description Questions via ZoomGrants
   
   1. Describe the Project (Questions 1-12).

C. Additional Materials (optional)

Although not required for evaluation, the following additional materials can be submitted with the application and required materials. The County highly encourages submission of these items as they may affect final scoring.

1. Project schedule by date;
   
   1. Project Close 
   2. Project Start 
   3. Zoning Completion 
   4. Project Commencement 
   5. Project Completion
   6. Tenant Lease Up 
2. Organizational Capacity Worksheet;
3. Market feasibility analysis/plan, if applicable;
4. Applicant’s financial statements;
5. Detailed project budget, (may be included in multifamily workbook);
6. Explanation of funding sources and uses; (may be included in multifamily workbook);
   
   1. Committed Funding
   2. Projected Funding
   3. Planned Funding

7. Commitment letters from other lenders and funders;
8. Architectural drawings, if applicable;
9. Sworn construction cost statement, if applicable;
10. Bids and specifications, if applicable;
11. Site improvement plans, if applicable;
12. Project scope of work, if applicable;
13. Photos of project site;
14. Evidence of site ownership or control
    
    1. Site ownership is required for pre-development funding applications
    2. Site control can be demonstrated by a Letter of Intent (LOI), Letter of Commitment, or a pending Purchase Agreement between the Developer and Seller.   
15. Operating expense projections, (may be included in multifamily workbook);
16. 15-year proforma projections including debt coverage ratio, (may be included in multifamily workbook);
17. Detailed housing unit breakdown, (may be included in multifamily workbook);
18. Occupancy/fill projections, (may be included in multifamily workbook);
19. Tenant data, if applicable;
20. Zoning and land use documentation;
21. Resolution or letter of support from local municipality.

Note:

1. Some of these documents may be consolidated in the required multifamily workbook for applicable projects.
2. Additional documentation may be required by County CED staff in the application and review process.
3. Resulting Documents to be Executed: Any resulting contracts, agreements, or closing documents necessary for funding the proposed project will include all applicable requirements under local, state, or federal law or regulation.

Available Resources

The County offers different sources of funding through the Solicitation. Funding sources are comprised of the following local programs:

HRA Levy

Funds are available to be used Countywide, including within the City of Saint Paul. Eligible uses include the production, acquisition, development, conversion and/or rehabilitation of permanent rental housing units, permanent supportive housing, construction of affordable owner-occupied housing, and the creation of funding pools for the acquisition of existing housing units for affordable homeownership activities and rental housing. When HRA funds are used for affordable homeownership activities or the construction of affordable owner-occupied housing, limits on the amount of funding that can be used as “affordability gap” may apply. The applicant of a housing activity cannot be the resident (owner-occupier) of any of the proposed units and the unit must be permanent rental housing available to the general public, or the unit must be sold on the open market or through an existing homeownership program managed by a nonprofit. At the sole discretion of the County, funds may be structured as a loan or a grant. Funded units must remain affordable for at least 30 years.

SAHA Funding

SAHA funds are available county-wide, including in the city of Saint Paul. Eligible uses include the construction, acquisition, development, conversion and/or rehabilitation of permanent rental housing units, permanent supportive housing, and the new construction of owner-occupied units for low-to-moderate homeownership. All units must have income and rental restrictions. State requirements may require the inclusion of accessible units. Funds will be structured as a zero percent interest-deferred loan with at least 20 years of affordability. 

Resulting Awards

Awards for housing developments will be between $100,000 and $500,000. At the sole discretion of the County, funds will be structured as a zero percent-deferred loan. Generally, funds must be used within 18 months of award. Funded units must remain at affordability limits stated in the proposal for at least 20 years. A declaration will be attached to the property to ensure affordability. The Ramsey County Prevailing Wage Ordinance may apply to awards over $25,000 with construction labor hours. Post-award, Ramsey County will monitor construction, design and the affordability of the units. 

Pre-Development Soft Costs

Applicants may apply for pre-development soft costs as listed in eligible "Housing Types and Projects." If an applicant is only awarded for pre-development activities, then the award will be structured as a forgivable loan with forgiveness occurring at the closing for the proposed affordable housing development with evidence of a construction start. If the affordable housing development project does not move forward as proposed, but the predevelopment funds were spent, the loan will be attached to the property's deed as a lien and is due upon sale of the property. To receive pre-development funding an Applicant must demonstrate ownership of the site so that the loan and note can be connected to the property's deed. 

Scoring and Evaluation

Application will be evaluated for:

1. Alignment with County's Strategic and Selection Priorities (40 points)
2. Project Feasibility and Financial Capacity (25 points)
3. Affordability (25 points)
4. Organizational Capacity (10 points)

Total: 100 points

Strategic Alignment and Selection Priorities (scored as set forth below)

The County seeks to address racial equity and ethnic-based disparities where all residents can experience fair outcomes including the highest level of health, wellbeing, and opportunities for advancement and growth. Please review the Ramsey County Economic Competitiveness and Inclusion Plan, the Equitable Development Framework, and the Deeply Affordable Housing Initiatives Engagement Report, which describe the County’s priorities and planning goals. When determining funding awards, the County prioritizes proposals that best meet the County’s priorities and planning goals.

This could include geographic distribution of projects and the coordination of multiple funding sources as described in the Economic Competitiveness and Inclusion Plan.

Project and Financial Feasibility  (scored as set forth below)

Projects should demonstrate and satisfy the following feasibility requirements in their application:

1. Whether the proposed housing is needed in the intended market based upon population, job growth, and housing vacancy rates. This includes the need for supportive housing units.
2. Whether the costs of developing the housing, including the total development cost, cost per unit, and subsidy per unit, are reasonable and/or justifiable.
3. Whether the applicant has demonstrated cost effectiveness for all stages and aspects of the development without compromising overall development quality.
   
   • The County is committed to constructing or rehabilitating multifamily housing to a standard that when properly maintained, remains decent, safe, and affordable for a long-term duration. All projects must conform with state and local zoning and building safety standards and ordinances.

4. Whether the housing is economically viable.
5. For permanent supportive housing, whether the service model, staffing, and secured funding are adequate to address the needs of the population to be served.
6. For projects that are to be developed in tandem with another project (e.g., with shared underground parking), the application must demonstrate that each individual project can be financed and built independently. The Multifamily Workbook must reflect all costs associated with each project.
7. Other factors that will be considered:
   
   • Demonstrated site control
     
     • Applicants must demonstrate acceptable evidence of title/site control, which could include the following: a purchase agreement, purchase option, or letter of intent from a governmental body for a sole developer. If there is no transfer of ownership, then the warranty deed or contract for deed is acceptable.
   • Eligibility, including project feasibility and other requirements;
   • Financial capacity; and
   • Letter of Support from the local municipality
     
     • Letter signed by appropriate and authorized staff with authority (not elected official) expressing support for the project; or
     • Letter demonstrating recent zoning/conditional use permit approval.

Affordability (scored as set forth below)

In addition to the affordability criteria attached to ARPA funding (a minimum of 10% of units are income-restricted at 30% AMI) and a desire to see as many deeply affordable housing units produced as possible, other considerations could include the rental limits and income limits for the non-ARPA assisted units. Further, the County requires rental limits and income limits consistent with applicable program funding source requirements and statutes and those specified in the owner’s application as underwritten by County CED staff for selected projects.

Scoring will focus on the following County priorities and how a proposal furthers efforts to create deeply affordable housing units: 

• Seeking projects that include a minimum of 10% of the total units with rental and income-restrictions at 30% Area Median Income (note, this is a requirement for ARPA projects);
• Seeking projects in which renters of the rental and income-restricted units will not pay more than 30% of their income towards rental costs;
• Seeking projects that include units that can offer and maintain rental restrictions at 30% AMI affordability without additional external subsidy, including project-based vouchers or housing support;
• Seeking projects that include units that can offer and maintain rental and income-restrictions at 50% AMI affordability.

Organizational Capacity (scored as set forth below)

In addition to demonstrating financial readiness, projects should demonstrate and satisfy the following capacity criteria in their application:

1. The applicant’s related housing experience;
2. Whether the applicant has successfully completed similar projects or is partnering with other organizations that have successfully completed similar projects;
3. Whether the applicant has strong current and expected ongoing capacity to complete the proposed housing, as well as other proposals being developed by the organization; and
4. Whether the applicant has the capacity to maintain the rental housing long-term.

Application Review

Applications will be reviewed by a review panel consisting of county staff. Projects will be reviewed with the following criteria and scoring:

1. Minimum selection criteria: Pass/fail criteria met (as described above). Projects that do not meet the pass/fail requirements will not be scored.

2. Applications will be reviewed for the above criteria before moving on to final scoring. Selected projects will be scored based on the following criteria:

1. Alignment with County's Strategic and Selection Priorities (40 points)
2. Project Feasibility and Financial Capacity (25 points)
3. Affordability (25 points)
4. Organizational Capacity (10 points)

County Reserved Rights and Data Practices Reminder

1. The County expressly reserves the right to amend or withdraw this solicitation at any time and to reject any or all responses, and to waive any informalities or irregularities in the responses as may be deemed in the best interest of the County.

2. The County reserves the right to request any additional information at any stage of the solicitation process. Compliance shall be at the Applicant's expense.

3. Upon submission, a solicitation response becomes the property of the County and will not be returned. The County retains the right to use any concept or idea presented in any solicitation response, whether or not that solicitation response is accepted. All information included in the submitted solicitation response will be classified in accordance with Minnesota State law governing data practices.

4. Solicitation responses or additional solicitation materials received after the deadline will not be accepted by the County and will not be evaluated. 

Gather Your Materials and Apply by the Deadline in ZoomGrants. 

This Solicitation will be hosted on ZoomGrants from September 5 through October 31, 2024. This Solicitation will close at 4:00 p.m. on October 31, 2024. Applicants are responsible to know all requirements that are needed to submit a complete application based on the specific housing development proposal and application type. CED staff reserve the right to seek follow-up information if needed after an application is received. 

Signatures

All application materials must be signed where required and applicable.