Welcome to Land Bank Twin Cities
Welcome to Land Bank Twin Cities and thank you for taking the time to learn more about our work across the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan region.
Land Bank Twin Cities is a regional social impact real estate and finance intermediary that aligns land, capital, and partnerships to expand equitable ownership, steward community assets, and strengthen regional prosperity. We work with local governments, community organizations, developers, lenders, and other partners to address persistent inequities in real estate systems and create opportunities that support long-term community benefit.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation proposal focuses on returning investor-owned single-family homes to community ownership. While that work is reflected throughout this tour, the featured sites represent a broader view of Land Bank Twin Cities and the role we play across the region. Together, they illustrate the range of real estate challenges communities face and the ways we partner to acquire, stabilize, finance, and steward assets that create lasting public benefit.
Each property reflects a different opportunity, a different partnership, and often a different approach. Some represent completed projects, others are active initiatives, and others demonstrate future possibilities. Collectively, they illustrate how Land Bank Twin Cities works to preserve opportunities, respond to changing market conditions, and help communities shape their own future through equitable ownership and stewardship.
Thank you for taking the time to explore our work. We hope these examples provide a deeper understanding of our mission, our partnerships, and the opportunity to expand this work across the Twin Cities region.
Our Operating Framework
Land Bank Twin Cities operates through three integrated pillars:
Strategic Acquisition
We acquire land and property at moments when speed matters, buying time to prevent loss of community control and preserve future development options for mission-aligned developers.
Community Lending
We provide flexible, mission-aligned financing to developers and partners facing structural barriers to conventional capital, unlocking projects that would otherwise stall and building the capacity of emerging developers historically excluded from real estate markets.
Land Banking and Stewardship
We hold land with intention. By managing and stewarding properties over time, we absorb the timing pressure and market risk that forces premature decisions giving communities, partners, and projects the space to move towards the right outcomes. The result is land that stays in the mission aligned hands, disposition strategies grounded in community priorities, and durable assets that build lasting value for people and places we serve.
Our Role
We are a social impact real estate and finance intermediary that aligns land, capital, and community priorities to prevent displacement, expand equitable ownership, and accelerate wealth building across the Twin Cities seven county metropolitan region. Our role is to strengthen systems where timing, risk, or rigidity creates gaps that cost communities their land or project.
At the core of our work is a simple approach: We Buy Time. We Land Bank. We Build Solutions.
2025 Annual Report
Land Bank Twin Cities operates at the intersection of land and capital, creating the conditions for development to move forward. In 2025, that work translated into measurable economic impact. From the total value of property land banked to the capital deployed and returned, each dollar reflects how our model reduces risk, aligns partners, and unlocks projects that would not otherwise happen. These numbers show more than activity. They demonstrate how strategic acquisition, land stewardship, and lending work together to generate real value across the system.
Impact at a Glance.
Land Bank Twin Cities operates at the intersection of land and capital, creating the conditions for development to move forward. In 2025, that work translated into measurable economic impact. From the total value of property land banked to the capital deployed and returned, each dollar reflects how our model reduces risk, aligns partners, and unlocks projects that would not otherwise happen. These numbers show more than activity. They demonstrate how strategic acquisition, land stewardship, and lending work together to generate real value across the system.
STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS
COMMUNITY LENDING
Supported
Supported
residential property
No commercial retail,
office or industrial units
Emerging
Developers
Agenda
Today's visit takes you through several sites where Land Bank Twin Cities has intervened to prevent displacement, protect community ownership, or convert underused land into public benefit. Between stops, you'll hear directly from our team and the partners who are building alongside us.
Updated Agenda:
- Welcome, introductions, and organizational grounding and day overview/logistics @ 9:00am, LBTC Offices
- Property and site visits
- Lunch @12:30pm, Golden Thyme
- Ecosystem Partner Conversation @ 2:00pm, LBTC Offices
- Optional happy hour/dinner for available participants Family Housing Fund Book Event with Brian Goldstone 4:00-6:00pm
New Town
Property Address(es): 728, 732, 735, 736, & 740 16th Street East
Property Name: New Town
Partners Names: Co-North, City of Minneapolis
Project Overview
For more than 40 years, Old Town in Town Cooperative provided affordable homeownership opportunities in Minneapolis' Elliot Park neighborhood. By 2022, however, years of financial instability, high vacancies, and management challenges had pushed the cooperative into technical default. With only weeks before foreclosure, five adjacent brownstones were at risk of being lost to speculative investment. One building had already been overtaken by a drug operation, further destabilizing the property.
Alerted by Twin Cities LISC and the City of Minneapolis, Land Bank Twin Cities moved quickly to acquire the properties. By stepping in at a critical moment, Land Bank created the time and stability needed for community partners to develop a long-term solution. What could have been another foreclosure instead became a model for preserving affordable homeownership and strengthening community ownership.
Land Bank Twin Cities Role
Land Bank Twin Cities intervened at a critical moment to prevent the cooperative from being lost through foreclosure. We satisfied the outstanding mortgage, stabilized operations, partnered with the Minneapolis Police Department over eight months to remove a drug operation, and are completing critical capital improvements to restore the property as a safe, stable place to live.
With the crisis addressed and the property on solid footing, Land Bank is actively collaborating with Co-North to lead the next chapter. We're organizing with residents to renew a limited-equity cooperative, New Town, and rebuild a path toward long-term community ownership.
Partner Role
The City of Minneapolis strengthened the recovery by subordinating and deferring debt from the previous cooperative. Co-North is leading resident engagement and organizing New Town Cooperative, creating a path toward renewed community ownership.
Outcome
A cooperative once on the brink of foreclosure is being transformed into a renewed, resident-led community. By stabilizing the property and creating time for partners to act, Land Bank Twin Cities preserved an affordable homeownership opportunity and expanded pathways to cooperative ownership.
Financials
4244 Penn Ave N
Property Name: 4244 Penn Ave N
Partners: PRG, Inc., City of Minneapolis CPED; Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
Project Overview
Once part of a private equity-owned rental portfolio, 4244 Penn Ave N represents a new approach to reclaiming investor-owned homes for community benefit. Through the Single-Family Investor-Owned Intervention Pilot Program (SFIOIPP), Land Bank Twin Cities and PRG are demonstrating how strategic acquisition, rehabilitation, and partnership can return homes to owner occupancy while preserving long-term affordability.
Land Bank Twin Cities Role
We acquired the property through SFIOIPP and transferred it to PRG for redevelopment. In addition to creating the opportunity for rehabilitation, Land Bank provided a $230,000 construction loan, giving PRG the capital needed to renovate the home and prepare it for sale to a household earning at or below 80% of Area Median Income.
Partner Role
PRG is leading the rehabilitation and homebuyer process. The City of Minneapolis provided a $166,000 gap subsidy, while Minnesota Housing contributed $125,000 through its Impact Fund, demonstrating how layered public investment can create sustainable homeownership opportunities.
Outcome
Construction is complete, with the home expected to be sold in August 2026 to an income-qualified buyer. What was once an investor-owned rental will become a permanently occupied home, illustrating how public investment and cross-sector partnership can interrupt speculative ownership and create lasting pathways to affordable homeownership.
Financials
Broadway-Girard Assembly
Property Address(es): 1300 West Broadway, 2015 Girard Ave N
Property Name: Broadway-Girard Assembly / “The Resolute”
Partners: Riverfront Development Partners (Ian Alexander), Hennepin County – Anti Displacement Community Prosperity Program (ACPP)
Project Overview
Transformational development rarely happens all at once. At the intersection of West Broadway and Girard Avenue, Land Bank Twin Cities assembled key properties over four years to create the foundation for The Resolute, a multi-phase, mixed-use development that will bring new commercial space, neighborhood services, and long-term investment to North Minneapolis.
Land Bank Twin Cities Role
Land Bank Twin Cities strategically acquired and held both 2015 Girard Ave N and 1300 W Broadway, removing barriers that often prevent complex redevelopment projects from moving forward. Beyond assembling the site, Land Bank advocated for the project, helped secure public investment, and created the time and certainty needed for long-term redevelopment planning.
Partner Role
Riverfront Development Partners is leading the planning, financing, and development of The Resolute, transforming the assembled properties into a vibrant mixed-use destination that reflects community priorities.
Outcome
The Resolute is advancing as a multi-phase redevelopment that will expand neighborhood amenities, create commercial opportunities, and strengthen the West Broadway corridor. Committed tenants already include a childcare center and coworking space, demonstrating how strategic land assembly can unlock lasting community investment.
Financials
Penn-Glen Assembly
Property Address(es): 300 Penn Ave N, 306 Penn Ave N, 2117 Glenwood Ave, 2125 Glenwood Ave
Property Name: Penn-Glen Assembly
Partners Names: City of Minneapolis owns an adjacent parcel and is holding it for the future development
Project Overview
The Penn-Glen Assembly demonstrates how strategic land banking can shape the future of a neighborhood before redevelopment begins. Over three years, Land Bank Twin Cities assembled six parcels at the intersection of Penn and Glenwood into a 1.36-acre redevelopment site, creating the foundation for a future mixed-use project that could bring affordable housing and a neighborhood grocery store to an area long identified as a food desert. For years, residents voiced the need for quality neighborhood investment. The former Pennwood Market had become associated with persistent drug activity, and a homicide at the property underscored the urgent need for change.
Land Bank Twin Cities Role
Land Bank Twin Cities strategically acquired, assembled, and continues to steward the site for future mission-driven redevelopment. When community members learned the troubled operator of Pennwood Market intended to purchase the property and continue operating the business, they alerted Land Bank. Acting quickly, we secured the property through an expedited acquisition, preventing the sale and creating an opportunity for long-term community reinvestment instead.
While the original development partner ultimately stepped away due to competing project priorities, the vision for the site remains unchanged. Because the land is securely held by Land Bank Twin Cities, the opportunity has been preserved while we continue working with public and community partners to identify the right development team to bring the neighborhood's vision for affordable housing and a grocery store to life.
Partner Role
The City of Minneapolis is preserving an adjacent parcel to support the future redevelopment of the full site, strengthening the long-term vision for the corridor.
Outcome
What was once a site associated with instability is now positioned for community-driven redevelopment. The Penn-Glen Assembly preserves the opportunity to deliver affordable housing, neighborhood-serving retail, and a potential grocery store while demonstrating how proactive land banking can interrupt harmful market dynamics and create space for the investments communities have long requested.
Financials
3334 James Ave N, Minneapolis
Property Name: 3334 James Ave N, Minneapolis
Partners: PRG, Inc; City of Minneapolis CPED; MHFA
Project Overview
Building new affordable homes has become increasingly difficult as construction costs continue to outpace what working families can afford to pay. Closing that gap requires flexible financing, layered public investment, and strong development partnerships. This new home at 3334 James Ave N demonstrates how those pieces come together to create a homeownership opportunity for a household earning at or below 80% of Area Median Income.
Land Bank Twin Cities Role
Land Bank Twin Cities provided a $230,000 construction loan through its Community Lending program, delivering the flexible capital needed to keep the project moving. By providing patient financing that complements public investment, Land Bank helps bridge the financing gaps that often prevent affordable homeownership projects from becoming reality.
Partner Role
PRG is leading development of the home through the Minneapolis Homes program. The City of Minneapolis contributed the vacant lot along with value gap and affordability subsidies, while Minnesota Housing layered additional Impact Fund resources to close the remaining financing gap and preserve long-term affordability.
Outcome
The home is currently under construction and is expected to be sold in September 2026 for $259,900, an affordable price made possible through coordinated public investment and strategic financing. With total development costs of nearly $560,000, the project illustrates both the financial realities of building new affordable homes and the critical role partnerships play in making homeownership attainable for the next generation of buyers.
East 7th Assembly
Property Name: East 7th Assembly
Property Address(es): 59 PID’s located between East 7th St, Hazelwood St, Reaney Ave E, and N Etna St.
Partners Names: St Paul Urban Tennis (former), City of St. Paul, St. Paul Parks, St. Paul Public Schools
Project Overview
For decades, this 13.8-acre site on Saint Paul's East Side served as a legal dumping area for concrete slurry, leaving behind an underutilized property in the heart of a neighborhood with limited access to parks and open space. While the site held tremendous potential, its size, environmental challenges, and uncertain future made redevelopment unlikely without public intervention.
Land Bank Twin Cities Role
We acquired and continue to steward the property, creating the time and flexibility needed to transform a long-neglected site into a community asset. By land banking and managing the property, Land Bank has preserved redevelopment options while partners refined a vision that reflects changing community needs and funding opportunities.
Partner Role
As the project evolved, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation and Saint Paul Public Schools emerged as long-term partners to reimagine the site as expanded outdoor space for students and a new public park for the surrounding neighborhood.
Outcome
What was once an industrial dumping site is being repositioned as a lasting public asset. By preserving the land until the right vision and partnerships emerged, Land Bank Twin Cities created the opportunity to transform 15 acres into recreational space that will serve students, families, and the broader East Side community for generations.
Financials
Playwright’s Center
Property Address: 710 Raymond Ave, St Paul, MN 55114
Partners Names: Playwright's Center
Project Overview
The Playwrights' Center is one of the nation's premier artist-advocacy organizations, dedicated to supporting playwrights and advancing new theatrical works. After more than 40 years in a former church, the organization had outgrown its longtime home and needed a permanent facility that could better support its mission and future growth.
Redeveloping the site required more than a new building. It demanded a coordinated effort to assemble the property, align public and private partners, and create the conditions for a complex mixed-use project to move forward. Today, the development features a purpose-built home for the Playwrights' Center, designed by HGA and constructed by Flannery Construction, while bringing new housing, investment, and long-term vitality to the neighborhood.
Land Bank Twin Cities Role
Land Bank Twin Cities was engaged to help identify, acquire, and hold the property that would become Playwrights’ Center’s new headquarters. In fall 2020, LBTC purchased 710 Raymond Ave on the organization’s behalf. Located in St. Paul’s Creative Enterprise Zone, the building was originally constructed in 1913 as a warehouse and had served for over a century as storage and light industrial space. The site was primed for transformation.
Three years after LBTC’s acquisition, Playwrights’ Center purchased the property and broke ground on construction. Two years later, in fall 2025, the organization officially opened its new $18.5 million, 19,000-square-foot facility, which includes a 130-seat theater, collaborative workspaces, a public lobby, and member areas.
Partner Role
The project brought together public, nonprofit, and private partners to transform a vacant institutional property into a vibrant mixed-use destination. Sherman Associates led development of the site, while the Playwrights' Center partnered throughout the transition to ensure its long-term home remained in the project. Public partners helped align financing and redevelopment objectives, creating a collaborative model that expanded affordable housing, preserved an important arts institution, and strengthened the surrounding neighborhood.
Outcome
What began as a vacant institutional property is now a vibrant mixed-use development that preserves an important cultural institution while expanding housing opportunities and neighborhood investment. By creating the time and certainty needed for partners to assemble financing and execute a complex redevelopment, Land Bank Twin Cities helped unlock an approximately $18 million project that demonstrates how strategic land banking can catalyze lasting community impact.
Financials
Land Bank Twin Cities Partners
We're honored to collaborate with a diverse group of leaders and organizations advancing equitable community development across the Twin Cities and beyond. Click on each partner's name to learn more about their organization, leadership, and the important work they are leading.
Adair Mosley
CEO, GroundBreak Coalition
Casey Shultz
Senior Impact Partnerships Officer, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
Drinal Foster
Chief Impact Officer, GroundBreak Coalition
Kevin Gulden
Real Estate Development Manager, PRG, Inc
Kirstin Burch
Executive Director, PRG, Inc.
Kizzy L. Downie
CEO, Model Cities
Libby Starling
Senior Community Development Advisor, Community Development and Engagement, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Muneer Karcher-Ramos
Program Director Vibrant & Equitable Communities, McKnight Foundation
Scott Fergus
CEO, Brick by Brick Training and Development Corporation
Land Bank Twin Cities Strategic Planning & Board and Governance
The following section provides an overview of Land Bank Twin Cities' governance structure, Board leadership, and committee framework. It outlines how the organization provides strategic oversight, financial stewardship, and mission-focused decision-making to support responsible growth and long-term community impact.
