Grand Opening Celebration for New Affordable Housing: Forty-Forty Flats
Thursday, May 16th, 2024
Congratulations to the residents and community of Forty-Forty Flats, a new 100% affordable 118-unit apartment for seniors aged 55+ in Edina, MN. Ecumen hosted a grand opening celebration this week with a ribbon cutting and tours.
Forty-Forty Flats is one of only three senior affordable buildings in Edina, increasing the number of senior affordable units by 30%, and it is the first active adult shallow-subsidy property (those with rents for 55+ households with 50%-60% AMI) in the entire City.
The community is an option for seniors that can’t afford or manage home ownership in the community in which they’ve resided in, as well as an option for low-and moderate-income seniors to live near neighbors, family and medical resources. The building includes a mix of studio, 1-bed and 2-bed units.
The project redevelops a vacant site to create a walkable development connecting new residents and existing residential neighbors to nearby transit, medical and retail. Amenities include underground parking, fitness studio, rooftop lounge, multi-purpose community room for resident and public programming, onsite gardens, and public art.
Check out this feature in City of Edina’s December 2023 newsletter. They interviewed new resident Laurie Keister.
“I chose it because I’m moving closer to my friends, my physicians and my medical team. It’s better for my quality of health. I like that I can quickly be at my job less than five miles away. And I like to volunteer at VEAP, and it’s close by.”
Forty-Forty Flats is an innovative partnership between the City of Edina, the Edina Housing Foundation, nonprofit and for-profit developers, Ecumen and Lupe Development, respectively, to create a model for permanent affordable housing. The Foundation purchased the property in 2019 and will maintain ownership of the land, with a 99-year ground lease with the developers. The goal is to ensure affordable housing options in Edina that cannot be sold after agreements/tax credits expire.
Financing for the project was provided by the Metropolitan Council, Hennepin County, City of Edina, Allianz Life and R4 Capital.
See more images on the Forty-Forty Flats project page.
Project Team:
- Developers: Ecumen and Lupe Development Partners
- Architect and Interior Designer: Pope Design Group
- General Contractor: Frana Companies
- Structural Engineer: ERA Structural Engineering
- Civil Engineer & Landscape Architect: Kimley-Horn
- MEP Engineer: Emanuelson-Podas, Inc.