Borchardt's work on housing caps off a storied career serving Olmsted County

One of Rochester’s leading voices in the fight for affordable housing has decided to make the spring of 2020 his last season in the driver’s seat.

Steve Borchardt, director of the Coalition for Rochester Area Housing, has announced his impending retirement from the position, effective June 30. Borchardt, 66, previously served as Olmsted County Sheriff.

In an interview this week, he said it simply feels like the right time in his life to move on.

“I’ve had the pleasure and the honor of working alongside some outstanding community leaders and some really caring people,” said Borchardt. “My decision is in no way reflecting anything on who I’ve worked with. It’s just personal, and I’ve reached that point in my life. I’m running out of windshield, and I want to do some traveling.”

Borchardt became Olmsted County Sheriff in 1991 and held the role for 17 years, as part of a 33-year career in local law enforcement. In 2017, Borchardt played an integral role in founding the Coalition for Rochester Area Housing (in partnership with the Rochester Area Foundation) and has served as the organization’s director since then. The Coalition has invested millions of dollars to create and preserve affordable housing in Rochester. 

“Creating this thing and getting it funded is probably, for me personally, my greatest accomplishment,” said Borchardt. “Keep in mind, I didn’t do any of that on my own. Nothing like this ever happens because of one person… it’s a team, and a bunch of folks came together to make it happen.”

When asked about his impact Wednesday, Borchardt’s colleagues said they were grateful for his many contributions to the community.

“He’s played a variety of roles in the community and led a number of very important programs in his time with the Coalition,” said Olmsted County Commissioner Sheila Kiscaden. “I look forward to seeing how he can serve the community in the future.”

Olmsted County housing director Dave Dunn said Borchardt was incredibly helpful in bringing the city, county, and Mayo Clinic together in collaboration to tackle affordable housing.

Like Kiscaden, Dunn recognized how involved Borchardt was in various aspects of the community — in fact, it was hard to miss.

“I never knew him as the sheriff,” said Dunn, “but it was incredible to see how much respect he has in this community. He knows everybody. Every time we’d go to lunch, at least three or four people would come up to him and say, ‘hey, I know you from so-and-so!’ It’s clear that he cares about the community and the community cares about him.”

Borchardt said the work of the Coalition must continue, even as he steps back from his director role. Solving the housing issues that plague Rochester, he said, will require a concentrated effort from the whole community.

“If we want affordable housing, we have to be more intentional,” said Borchardt. “The market on its own has pretty well proven that it can’t produce housing at that price point. Now, is that the fault of a market? No. We have self-imposed cost barriers, from the fees we charge to the way we distribute community costs, our building codes, and all that wraps into it. We need to have a holistic approach to changing how we think about the production of housing, across our entire society and our entire economy.”

Borchardt said his final few months in the director’s chair will be spent looking for added investment and philanthropy to bring the Coalition’s financial abilities “to the next level.”

After the calendar flips to July, though, it will be time for the man who’s spent nearly his entire adult life in Rochester to branch out a little.

“My wife and I just got a motorhome,” said Borchardt. “Right now, our plan is to take a bunch of trips with that, and see some parts of the country up close and personal that I’ve never seen before. We’re not tied down to any specific plan right now, and it’s nice to have that flexibility.”

That flexibility could include a return to the Coalition at some point; Borchardt didn’t rule out the possibility of serving in a limited role in the future. At this point, though, it’s about resting — as the rest of us reflect on the many accomplishments he’s had in a long and storied career.

“If in fact the Coalition stands the test of time so community leaders and the largest employers are getting together to talk about these things regularly, then that’s an accomplishment in itself,” said Borchardt. 

Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.