CommonBond Begins Construction of The Lumin Affordable Community in St. Paul, Minnesota

by Jeff Shaw

ST. PAUL, Minn. — CommonBond Communities has started construction of The Lumin, which will provide 60 units of housing for seniors in the Highland Bridge development in Saint Paul.

Units will be restricted to people age 55 and older who earn 30 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). A project-based Section 8 subsidy allows residents to pay 30 percent of their income in rent. Seven units will be reserved for formerly homeless seniors.

The project is scheduled for completion in fall of 2023.

The Lumin is the first of 10 planned affordable rental developments at Highland Bridge.

Ryan Cos. US Inc., Highland Bridge’s master developer, is the general contractor for The Lumin; Ryan A+E Inc. will serve as the civil engineer; and LHB Inc. is the architect.

Highland Bridge is a 122-acre mixed-use development on the former site of Ford Motor Co.’s Twin Cities assembly plant. The development will include 3,800 housing units, 265,000 square feet of employment and institutional space, approximately 150,000 square feet of retail space, and 55 acres of public and open space.

CommonBond will finance The Lumin with an LMIR first mortgage from Minnesota Housing and four percent tax credits. In addition, the project was awarded 60 project-based vouchers (PBVs) from the St. Paul Public Housing Agency, along with $4.5 million in capital improvement bond financing from Ramsey County.

The City of Saint Paul has also established a tax increment financing (TIF) district and the project will benefit from the increment generated by both the market-rate and affordable buildings at Highland Bridge.

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