ST PAUL, Minn. — The St. Paul City Council has passed Mayor Carter's Inheritance Fund proposal, several months after Carter shared plans for the fund during his annual budget address in August.
The fund would help former residents of St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood by offering thousands of dollars in fully forgivable loans, either for down payments or repairs.
Mayor Carter shared the update on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and said more information and details on the application process will come from the city's Department of Planning and Economic Development.
"Instead of a sentimental tweet today, I’m humbled to honor Dr. King’s legacy by announcing that the City Council has passed our #InheritanceFund proposal!" Carter tweeted.
In his August address, Carter proposed moving money from the city's Housing Trust Fund, which currently works to address the affordability crisis in St. Paul, to create the Inheritance Fund.
The fund would offer loans up to $100,000 for down payments on homes and repairs.
St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood once housed a thriving African American community. Then in the 1950s and 60s, the historic Black neighborhood was razed and split apart to build Interstate 94. According to Reconnect Rondo, an organization working to reconnect Rondo with a land bridge, 700 family homes were demolished and 300 businesses were closed or torn down.
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