Menu
Hey, community! Last Tuesday we held the East Side’s first Housing Summit in collaboration with our community partners. We’ve been making a lot of good progress getting people excited around fair housing in East Saint Paul. Some of the takeaway themes from the community are that there isn’t enough affordable housing, that wages have not increased in accordance with the rising cost of housing, that elderly East Side residents are stuck in their homes due to the high cost of senior care and that rent control is necessary. What’s your housing story?
Gentrification is a tricky term. The dictionary definition is “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste.” Gentrification is both a constructive and destructive process. In this blog post, we will be focusing on the negative effects of gentrification and some solutions to it. Gentrification is a renovation of homes to middle-class tastes so what does this mean for the poorer residents? According to Georgetown Law “Gentrification usually leads to negative impacts such as forced displacement, a fostering of discriminatory behavior by people in power, and a focus on spaces that exclude low-income individuals and people of color.” Georgetown Law also states that gentrification can be beneficial to current residents of the gentrified neighborhood if it is done in a considerate manner. This, however, is rarely ever done and more often than not pooer residents are pushed out of the neighborhood due to higher rent and cost of living. How can a neighborhood experience the benefits of higher-income residents moving in while also preserving the livelihoods of the current residents? By increasing homeownership within lower-income neighborhoods, it becomes harder for developers to push residents out. Rent control is also a great way to prevent predatory gentrification. Finally, the construction of affordable housing is a great way to combat predatory gentrification.
With October coming to an end that means all the ghosts and ghouls are preparing for Halloween. During this spooky season keeping up with your house is a must. Decorations are important but are keeping up with home repairs and winter-proofing your home. Some things you can do include installing storm windows, caulking up cracks and holes, and setting your thermostat to a comfortable temperature. By winter-proofing your house you can ensure that this Halloween will be a warm one!
Recently Saint Paul has acquired two sizable plots of land. Hillcrest Golf Course and Boy’s Totem town both lie within the Eastside and measure between 70 to 120 acres each. The pipefitters union acquired the Hillcrest Golf Course in 2011 for 4.3 million dollars. Initially purchased as an investment for union members retirement funds, the golf was a nightmare for the union and it was bought earlier this year by the Port Authority. The golf course spans 120 acres and is prime for future development aside from one pitfall, there is mercury contamination in the soil.
Boy’s Totem Town
Boy’s Totem Town was a juvenile correctional facility for young boys. In 2016 it was decided that the facility would be shut down as it was becoming too costly to keep up. The site officially closed this summer and there are 72 acres of land up for development. With the current demand for homes and the lack of housing stock within the city, these two sites are promising prospects for future development.
Hillcrest Golf Course
How do you think the city should handle these two sites? What do you want to see developed in the future?
Hello and Happy Indigenous People’s day! Today is the day we celebrate the original inhabitants of this land we call the United States of America. For those who do not know what Indigenous People’s day is, this day, October 14th, formally hosted Colombus day. For years there was upheaval over the celebration of an individual that led to the death of millions of indigenous persons. In 2016 Minneapolis became the first city in Minnesota to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day. Two years later Governor Dayton issued a statewide recognition of Indigenous People’s Day.
This Year ABC Realty attended the Saint Paul celebration at Indian Mounds Park. Indian Mounds Park is a sacred burial ground for the ancestors of the Dakota people who inhabit Minnesota. During Saint Paul’s expansion a sacred site, known a Wakan Tepee, was demolished. Wakan Tepee was a cave that contained ancient pictographs and an underground lake. Most of the burial mounds were also dug up to make the current park. Although the Indigenous Peoples faced dire situations at the hands of settlers they are still here today.
This week ABC Realty will be exploring the current dilemma facing the elderly in today’s Real Estate Market in Saint Paul: limited supply of affordable housing. Among those aging out of the workforce, many cannot afford to live in a retirement home due to the high cost of living in those communities. Lack of access to fair and affordable housing is in part due to the cuts in affordable housing, welfare, and other subsidies. Along with the lack of federal assistance the housing market has shifted dramatically in recent years. Many of the homes that the elderly bought decades ago are not worth enough to cover the cost of overinflated retirement care. Additionally, another dilemma is that the aging population cannot afford to take care of the house, further depreciating its value. This phenomenon leads to a huge portion of housing stock staying locked up and literally rotting away. This problem has become so rampant that we are seeing a spike in homelessness among the 65 and older population! It is estimated that by 2040 the 65 and overpopulation will grow by over 90%! During an era with such uncertainty facing the elderly, how can we tackle this burgeoning problem?
If you’re looking for a home in the Twin Cities ABC Realty has something on the horizon for buyers. Phase three of Village on Rivoli has broke ground and will be completed by next summer. Phase three will feature boxcar style homes designed by famed Duluth architect David Salmela. These contemporary homes will feature a tuck under garage, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. These homes are energy efficient and green-certified, not only ethical but will also save you money! Starting at under $300,000 these homes are perfect for both first time home buyers and those looking to move!
view from the site
floor plans
floor plans
floor plans
https://www.facebook.com/ABCRealEstateLLC/videos/401255467244268/
Hello and Good Afternoon! We are excited to announce that we have three scattered sites coming to Saint Paul this fall! Attached is a video of our Desoto Property that just came to the market on the 26th of September. These homes are 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms split entries under $250,000. If you miss out on this opportunity don’t worry! there are two more of these homes coming to market later on this fall! If you have any questions please feel free to contact us!
Transcription
[ Hey Community. It’s ABC Realty. We are here in Payne-Phalen across the street from the Bruce Vento School. And we’re at one of our new construction projects. This project is a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom home and we have two others just like it in the pipeline. So if you or anyone you know is thinking of making a move and you want to buy under 250 thousand for a new construction then we want to talk to you. ABC Realty. Rooted in Community]
Meet our operations managers Ben Werner and Ismail Khadar. Ben is from south Minneapolis and when not ensuring the office sails smoothly, he’s biking, writing poetry, or working on cars. Ben enjoys spending time in the community on the East Side and helping more East Siders own their own homes and find housing. Fun fact: a Dark ‘N’ Stormy is Ben’s favorite drink!
Ismail works with Ben to run the office and put together our community and neighborhood engagement events. Ismail grew up in East Saint Paul from a family steeped in Real Estate experience. He’s one of the creative minds behind ABC’s marketing and event planning. Fun Fact: Ismail’s favorite food is fried calamari.
#ABCRealty #RootedinCommunity #RealEstate #SaintPaul #Neighborhood
This upcoming November ABC Realty along with our partners will be holing an Eastside housing summit! The goal of this summit is to create a housing movement based and focused in East St. Paul. We will be hosting this summit in collaboration with our community partners. As a real estate brokerage, we strive to help buyers in our community to buy homes for their families! Don’t forget the date, November 12th, and please let us know in the comments what you’d like to see come out of this.
We know we’ve been gone for a while but we’ve been busy! This summer we held our very first film series in partnership with the East Side Freedom Library. Focusing on housing and labor rights we showed three documentaries, Sold Out, Jim Crow in the North, and Detroit 48202. We finished off the film series with a community conversation where we had Jennifer Ho, the Minnesota Housing and Financing Agency Commissioner, and Kristin Guild, the Deputy Director of St.Paul’s Planning and Economic Development Department, speak. Overall, the film series was a huge success and we had as many as 140 people come to our films! If you missed out don’t worry because there are more events on the horizon. We also brought the DBNHS scattered sites to market and they are just a taste of what’s to come. We are excited to announce that we are joining with our partners in hosting a housing summit this fall. As always we are committed to serving you and the community through our work!
Throughout our closing the gap campaign we have spoke about the importance of home ownership. Therefore we believe it is important to highlight the exact benefits of owning your own home. Hopefully this info-graphic will help you or someone you know learn more about owning a home!
