Affordable Housing Nonprofit to Lay Off 117
A local affordable housing nonprofit is laying off 117 employees.
CommonBond Communities, headquartered in St. Paul, has decided to outsource property management, plus “tangential positions,” according to a notice sent to state officials on Monday.
The move comes amid what leadership calls “the current environment of escalating costs, uncertain public funding, and continued resident distress.” Layoffs will begin July 18 and continue through January 31.
But CommonBond reports it will retain less than half its workforce—107 employees—in other departments, including advantage services, real estate, and fund development.
“The majority of our work will be dedicated to our dedicated Advantage Services program,” president and CEO Deidre Schmidt said in an open letter on Monday. That covers efforts around supportive housing, resident stability, and multigenerational programming.
Schmidt said CommonBond is addressing “challenging conditions” in the affordable housing industry. Its future outlook involves a “diversified approach” to property management as well as a smaller portfolio.
To outsource property management, CommonBond is partnering with The Community Builders, a management and development nonprofit based in Boston (“pending important preparation work and required approvals,” per Schmidt).
CommonBond had expected to continue self-managing about half its portfolio. “However, our 2023 search for third-party property management revealed limited capacity in our region,” Schmidt said. CommonBond had transitioned management of roughly half its communities to such regional partners as ACC Management Group, Lloyd Management, and MetroPlains Management.
Noting that The Community Builders supports 12,000 homes nationally, Schmidt said the company offers “scale and systems” commensurate with CommonBond, which houses 13,000 people per year in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota. In Minnesota, CommonBond has developed 98 housing communities and 6,214 units.
The Community Builders oversees properties across five regions in the United States, with a Chicago office for its Midwest category (which includes Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin).
“This is complex, demanding work,” Schmidt said. “Restoring the health of our aging properties requires substantial resources.”
CommonBond was in the local news recently for owning the Vista Village apartment complex on the west side of St. Paul. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported last month that the nonprofit had not seen grant money awarded by U.S. Housing and Urban Development for much-needed repairs, amid program freezes by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We believe that adding this strategic collaboration with [The Community Builders] will enhance the CommonBond resident experience and support the best possible property operations outcomes in the current environment of escalating costs, uncertain public funding, and continued resident distress,” Schmidt said.
A CommonBond representative could not be immediately reached for more information.
Correction: A previous version of this article reported CommonBond’s St. Paul headquarters would close, in addition to layoffs, as relayed in a WARN notice. A representative has reached out to inform us the facility is staying open.
