Project: Reclaim Brings Hope to North Minneapolis

North Minneapolis has been hit hard by recent residential mortgage foreclosures. In 2007, 55% of Minneapolis’s 2,895 foreclosed homes were in North Minneapolis. By the third quarter of 2008, that figure was already at 2,152, and the percentage in North Minneapolis was still high.

In an effort to get new people into homes and stop the erosion of neighborhood stability, a Christian community development organization called Urban Homeworks joined with Lutheran Social Services, and the City of Lakes Community Land Trust to collaborate on Project: Reclaim.

A homeownership program, Project: Reclaim first acquires and restores boarded, condemned, or foreclosed properties in North Minneapolis through the work of trainees and volunteers. Then, it makes these houses available to low- to moderate-income families on a low-interest contract for deed basis, while they correct credit issues and reduce their consumer debt.

This program gives families the space and time to improve their financial stability and become able to conventionally finance a home. When families can move from renting to owning, they not only have a place to call home, but also become even more engaged in the life of their community. They now control the destiny of their housing.