In 2020, Allina Health earmarked $30 million for projects that address these SDOH hurdles. The Midwell apartments near Allina Commons is the first brick-and-mortar result.
Late last year, Allina Health provided a $3 million loan with the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund (GMHF) to support the construction of the apartments. This partnership created lower interest rates for the housing developer and, in turn, more affordable rents for tenants.
Today, The Midwell provides 86 affordable apartments and reserves 11 of them for “high-priority homeless households.” GMHF plans to reallocate Allina Health's $3 million over and over, in effect turning it into more than $40 million worth of affordable housing construction over seven years. At that time, GMHF will repay Allina Health's $3 million investment.