News and Events

Feature article "It’s Getting Easier to Be Green", Thief River Falls Times, showcases success of Minnesota Green Communities. (April, 2008)
Click here to download .pdf

"A Short History of Greenness", Minnesota Real Estate Journal (May, 2008)
Click here to download .pdf

Minnesota Green Communities Announces 2007 Grants
November 2007
Inclusive of both affordable and market-rate housing, Minnesota Green Communities is now the largest green building program in Minnesota, with 190 units completed, 423 under construction, and another 1,223 under development. Demonstrating the growing interest in building and designing green, and indicative of major policy changes at the state level, there was a significant increase in the number of applications for Minnesota Green Communities funding in 2007. In 2007, the Family Housing Fund and Greater Minnesota Housing Fund staff reviewed 35 proposals, 22 from the metro area (as compared with 11 in 2006), and 13 from greater Minnesota (as compared with eight in 2006). The following nine green projects were selected for grant funding throughout Minnesota in 2007:

Past Events

Green by Design - May 2007
Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and the Family Housing Fund convened the second annual statewide Minnesota Green Communities conference on green building, Green by Design 2007. This conference provided expert training and education to nearly 350 (up from 200 in 2006) housing developers, builders, architects, contractors, city planners, policymakers, and other professionals concerned with creating sustainable housing and communities in Minnesota. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. inspired and motivated audience members with his powerful keynote luncheon address that was as much a call to action as a speech. Due to a medical emergency, scheduled health keynote speaker Xavier Bonnefoy was unable to attend. Fortunately, Ellen Tohn of Tohn Environmental Strategies, a national expert in housing-based environmental threats (and a scheduled presenter for Day Two), was able to step in for Bonnefoy, and provide a compelling speech on the strong connections between housing and health.

Green by Design offered a rich assortment of more than 20 different technical and policy sessions by local and national experts on a wide range of green building and design topics, including energy efficiency, stormwater management, green building products, urban and rural design, global warming, and health and housing. On more than a few occasions, workshop sessions left standing room only. At the end of the workday, many attendees stayed for a “Green Happy Hour” for an opportunity to network with other conference participants and staff, discuss topics of interest from the day’s workshops, share details on plans for new housing developments, and to get to know their colleagues from around the state. The transit-friendly location appealed to a number of attendees with over two dozen arriving on bicycle, bus, or light rail. For more session descriptions and presentations, and more details, click here.

Green by Design - November 2006
Minnesota Green Communities hosted three day-long trainings on state-of-the-art green building practices for developers, builders, architects, policy makers, and funders working in greater Minnesota. The trainings focused on how to create affordable, healthy, and energy efficient homes in sustainable communities, highlighting the unique opportunities and challenges of green building in greater Minnesota. Topics of special emphasis included increasing local energy self-reliance, healthy homes, protecting local water quality, sustainable development planning, and natural resource preservation.

Green by Design - April, 2006
Minnesota Green Communities hosted a pioneering two-day training on green building practices by local and national experts. With rising housing and energy costs, the interest in creating sustainable, energy-efficient affordable housing is at a new high. The training included detailed technical information on the Green Communities Criteria™, and highlighted several Minnesota-specific case studies. Additionally, Minnesota Green Communities announced funding for another round of demonstration projects in coordination with Minnesota Housing's 2006 Super RFP.

Renewable Energy: Solar and Affordable Housing – An Event with Chris LaForge
February 2007
Minnesota Green Communities, along with LISC, Minnesota Housing Partnership, Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency sponsored a workshop with solar expert Chris LaForge of Great Northern Solar. The workshop provided an introduction to solar uses in affordable housing, utilizing slides of solar installations, and providing plenty of interactive question and answer time. The crowd was at capacity, and the project received substantial positive feedback about the quality of the Minnesota Green Communities’ events.

Prior to the workshop, Minnesota Green Communities hosted a private lunch with LaForge and the development teams from Viking Terrace and The Wellstone, two demonstration projects with solar applications. During lunch, teams were able to review documents and receive expert technical assistance on their specific projects.