Group to host community forum on affordable housing in Rochester

The grassroots group In the City for Good is set to host a community forum next week on affordable housing.

The event will include an overview of affordable housing needs in Rochester by Steve Borchardt, housing director for the Rochester Area Foundation, as well as a presentation on "inclusionary housing" from Robert Hickey, of Grounded Solutions. Hickey will also be addressing the Rochester City Council that same week at its May 1 Committee of the Whole meeting.

According to organizers, the discussion will focus on ways to improve affordable housing availability in Rochester. Members of the audience will be given the opportunity to provide input. 

The conversation on affordable housing has picked up locally in recent years due, in part, to Destination Medical Center and the potential for it to bring tens of thousands of new residents to Rochester over the next couple of decades. 

A 2014 study by Maxfield Research Group indicated Olmsted County will need to add 1,725 affordable housing units — nearly 250 per year — by 2020. The report was commissioned by the county, Rochester Are Foundation and Mayo Clinic.

However, even with several projects in the works, supply continues to lag behind demand. The RAF estimates the current vacancy rate for affordable housing units in Rochester is below 1 percent.

The host of the forum, In the City for Good, is a grassroots organization that sprung up around the same time DMC began taking shape. It consists of eight action groups working on a range of issues, from affordable housing to social justice.

In the City for Good/In the Shadow of Growth

Community Forum

May 2, 6:30-8 pm

Zumbro Lutheran Church 

Fireside Room—use south entrance

624 3rd Ave SW

You can follow the event's Facebook page for updates.