The Metropolitan Council announced this week that $15.75 million worth of funds have been granted to 15 projects of 10 recipients—Apple Valley, Bloomington, Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Falcon Heights, Hopkins, Little Canada, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the Saint Paul Port Authority. 

The funds are under the Livable Communities Act, a nine-grant program that aims to create greater equity in the seven-county region by expanding affordable housing choices, supporting living wage jobs, and connecting jobs, housing, and regional amenities. 

The $15.75 million went through two grant programs: $10.05 million provided to the Livable Communities Demonstration Account (LCDA), which supports development and redevelopment projects that link housing, jobs, and services “while using community and regional infrastructure efficiently”; and the remaining $5.7 million allocated to Transit Oriented Development, which focuses on high-density projects along light rails, high-frequency bus corridors, and other transit sites. 

The development and redevelopment projects supported by this move are expected to create 1,672 affordable housing units, maintain 306 existing affordable units, and add 484 market-rate housing units, totaling 2,462 homes. The council also states that these developments will create or preserve 969 jobs. 

“We know that families across the Twin Cities are finding it harder than ever to afford a place to call home,” says Sarah Berke, Met Council senior manager for Housing and Livable Communities. “These grants support communities working with developers to create much-needed housing, enabling people to live in the cities where they work.”

Twenty-four applicants from 13 cities requested a total of $33.1 million in the 2025 grant cycle, the release states, which is more than twice the available funding. Following a “rigorous review process,” the funding was distributed among “the highest-scoring eligible projects within established geographic and award limits.” 

Of the 1,672 affordable units to be built, 300 are expected to be affordable to households earning up to about $39,700 annually for a family of four; 355 units are expected to be affordable to households earning between $39,701 to $66,200 annually; and 1,017 units are expected to be affordable to households earning between $66,201 to $104,200 annually.  

Applications for the 2026 funding round will be due April 15, 2026.

The legislature passed the Livable Communities Act in 1995, and the Met Council distributed its first grant in 1996, according to a Met Council spokesperson. In the past 30 years, LCA has awarded more than $532 million in grants to 1,400 projects that have helped to boost regional vitality, by way of affordable housing development, support for living-wage jobs, and other initiatives.