Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey joined Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) leaders in the Windom neighborhood to break ground on a new triplex the agency is building, enabled by the Minneapolis 2040 Plan and funded, in part, by MPHA’s tax levy. The agency is also breaking ground on a duplex in the Regina neighborhood, funded, in part, by MPHA’s tax levy. Across both properties, the city’s housing tax levy provided $1.25 million in funding.
The new Windom triplex will replace an MPHA-owned single-family home with three new homes consisting of two four-bedroom, two-bathroom units and one two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit. One four-bedroom and the two-bedroom unit will be fully accessible.
“This project demonstrates the power of partnership in addressing our region’s affordable housing crisis,” said Abdi Warsame, Executive Director/CEO of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “Coupling MPHA’s federal resources with local funding and the nation-leading 2040 Plan, MPHA continues to add the deeply affordable family housing our city needs. And while five new family homes are not going to solve the city’s affordable housing shortage, the real success of this project is its replicability. MPHA continues to take former single-family homes and transforming them into homes for multiple families in buildings that fit the character of the neighborhoods they are in.”
“The Minneapolis 2040 Plan wasn’t just a vision—it was a commitment to action,” said Mayor Frey. “Projects like this triplex in Windom and the duplex in Regina are exactly why we made bold choices to upzone and rethink how we build housing in our city. These aren’t just new buildings—they’re real homes for real families. Every Minneapolis family should be able to find a place that’s safe, affordable, and feels like home.”
“Creating more accessible and affordable homes is essential to building a Minneapolis that works for everyone,” said Minneapolis City Council Member Emily Koski, ward 11. “This new development is an important step in expanding opportunity for families in South Minneapolis and ensuring our neighborhoods remain inclusive and vibrant. Every resident—regardless of income—deserves a place to call home.”
The Windom triplex replaces a high-needs, long-term vacant single-family home the agency had previously intended to rehabilitate. But following the success of MPHA’s nation-leading Family Housing Expansion Project (FHEP), agency staff reviewed MPHA’s portfolio of nearly 800 scattered site family homes for additional opportunities to add multifamily homes in place of single-family homes with extensive capital improvement needs. Upon review, this property presented an opportunity to take advantage of the city’s zoning code to build a new triplex in lieu of rehabilitation.
In addition to the Windom triplex, MPHA is also replacing a previously vacant single-family home in the Regina neighborhood with a new duplex as a part of this project. The new duplex will include a four-bedroom, two-bathroom unit that is fully accessible and a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit. Both the Windom triplex and Regina duplex will be all-electric and energy efficient, including rooftop solar arrays on both homes.
These new homes come at a critical time for the agency. Last year, MPHA opened its family housing waitlist for five days—the first time in three years—and received more than 3,300 applications. With nearly 4,000 families on the agency’s waitlist, MPHA continues to explore opportunities to add new family homes with larger bedroom counts, including the possibility of adding additional family homes as a part of any future Glendale redevelopment and construction project.
And while the agency continues to explore opportunities to build new family housing, agency leaders remain committed to securing the necessary resources to preserve the agency’s portfolio of nearly 800 deeply affordable family homes.
The agency currently projects an 11-month construction timeline, with all work estimated to be completed by the third quarter of 2026.