Historic Saint Paul home sold through innovative Ramsey County program
On Wednesday, April 30, a Saint Paul family purchased a renovated home in Saint Paul on Margaret Street through Ramsey County’s FirstHome Down Payment Assistance Program. The four-bedroom, three-bath property, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was transformed from a tax-forfeited house into a modern family home, thanks to a county initiative that merged housing redevelopment with workforce training.
The Ramsey County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) sold the home with $85,400 in down payment assistance. It was part of a broader effort to make homeownership more accessible to first-time buyers while revitalizing properties in need of investment. The home sold for just under $342,000.
The home’s restoration was made possible through the Productive Properties Program, which was led by county’s Property Tax Services and Workforce Solutions departments in partnership with Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota. Funded by federal CARES dollars, the program supported COVID-19-impacted workers through paid, hands-on construction training.
The Margaret Street home sale is a testament to what’s possible when housing, training and economic redevelopment intersect.