History
Seward Towers Corporation (STC) was founded in 1990 as Borson Housing Corporation (named after the original towers) to preserve the affordable housing designation for two 21-story, 320-unit high-rise apartment buildings near the Mississippi River, now known as Seward Towers. The original for-profit developer of the apartment towers
had begun planning in the late 1980s to convert the buildings to
market-rate housing. In response, several organizations—including Greater Minneapolis Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMMHC), CommonBond Communities (then known as Westminster Corporation), Seward Redesign, and the Seward Neighborhood Group—came together to preserve the buildings as affordable housing.
2015-2016
CommonBond Communities, in partnership with STC, Seward Redesign, and the Seward Neighborhood Group, assembled a $99 million refinancing package, using both public and private funding sources, to support $50 million in major renovations while preserving long-term affordability and minimizing disruption to residents. To generate sufficient capital for major rehabilitation of the Towers, STC chose to use Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. This required transferring ownership of the Towers to a for-profit partnership that could utilize the
tax credits.
Thus ownership transferred to the Seward Towers Renovation Limited Partnership (STR-LP). The partnership included Wells Fargo Affordable Housing CDC as the limited partner and lender, while CommonBond Communities and STC served as general partners through Seward Towers Renovation LLC, with CommonBond holding a 51% ownership stake. As a result, STC was no longer the sole or majority owner of the Towers.
Major renovations to Seward Towers were carried out in 2016.
2024-2026
Since the refinancing and renovations in 2016, STC has continued
to maintain close ties with all the partners, including the Seward Neighborhood Group which continues to host a paid community facilitator to work with residents, building connections with the neighborhood and supporting the services that are provided to residents within the building.
In 2024, STC began serious conversations with its community partners about the opportunity to refinance the buildings again when the LIHTC compliance period ends in 2031. The goals of the future refinancing are
to establish a more sustainable approach to maintaining the buildings' physical infrastructure, to preserve long-term affordability, and to continue supporting residents and their connections to the surrounding neighborhood.
2026-2031
Over this next five-year period, STC will undertake an internal capacity-building effort to prepare for managing a complex refinancing process
and potentially reassuming ownership of the two properties. During this time, the Board will continue planning for the upcoming ownership transition, evaluating options such as repurchasing the property and assuming responsibility for property management. The Board is also considering how these changes would affect STC's governance, partnerships, staffing, and organizational structure, with the goal of ensuring the long-term affordability of Seward Towers.
2031
The current financing structure will mature when the 15-year LIHTC compliance period ends. At that time, STC will have the right of first refusal to regain full ownership of Seward Towers. The organization intends to ensure that the buildings remain permanently affordable and are not converted to market-rate housing while determining the most effective ownership and management structure for the future
AN EXCELLENT READ
When a developer wanted to take away affordable housing, community members stepped up to save Seward Towers.