St. Cloud Area Housing Summit Aims to Tackle Affordability Crisis

(KNSI) — St. Cloud area nonprofits are hosting a summit next week focused on developing affordable housing in central Minnesota.

The invite only event is on Tuesday, April 29th, on the St. Cloud State University campus from 8:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. It’s being put together by the United Way of Central Minnesota, Central Minnesota Builders Association, St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce, and SCSU. Organizers say the idea is to bring together city officials, county leaders, builders, developers, nonprofits, housing agencies and others to discuss how the region can create more housing.

In March 2023, many of the same stakeholders met to explore ways to develop more workforce housing in St. Cloud. At that time, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Regional Labor Market Analyst Luke Greiner told KNSI News that a family budget where both parents make the median wage can afford a home costing around $150,000, which is impossible to find. Organizers say this session will highlight solutions, next steps and engagement opportunities.

A 2019 study estimates St. Cloud will need 5,000 new homes by 2040 to handle its growing population.

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