This duplex in north Minneapolis is among the properties owned by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. (Miguel Otarola, null/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority is seeking $45 million from state taxpayers to make repairs to the agency's portfolio of family homes.

Legislation was introduced to the State Senate by Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, earlier this week seeking the money as a grant. If approved, the result would be the largest non-federal funding boost ever made to MPHA.

Fateh, Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, and two others are co-sponsors of the bill, which joins a long list of proposals seeking a slice of the state's $17.6 billion surplus. The money would come from the state's general fund.

The agency's nonprofit Community Housing Resources program operates more than 700 single-family, duplex and fourplex homes throughout the city. While $2 million is spent each year on their upkeep, a large cash infusion is needed to get ahead of repairs, said Abdi Warsame, executive director of MPHA. The agency blames "decades of underfunding" from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

More than half of the homes are listed as in "poor" condition; with a total cost to fix them at about $31 million. If left unaddressed, that maintenance backlog could more than double to $65 million by 2027, according to an agency presentation.

"We know if we can preserve [these homes] for the foreseeable future, then over the next 30 years we're going to serve thousands of families," Warsame said.

The program serves about 3,100 residents and accounts for more than 80 percent of MPHA's housing for families with children. Most are occupied by female-led families of color. Many of the homes are located in north and central Minneapolis.

The grant would help the Community Housing Resources program become self-sufficient. The work would be done over a 10-year span.

"After we've removed this large backlog that's almost impossible to tackle without this one-time investment, then we do foresee that we will be sustainable into the future," said Laura Dykema, MPHA director of planning and development.

The program touts its efforts to stabilize families in need:

Upon entering the program, 19 percent were employed, earning $20,722 a year on average.
Once in, most see their earned income increase. Of current residents, 67 percent are employed and earning $34,225 a year on average.
Families stay in the program about 6 years; about 17 percent of those who left between 2020-2022 bought their own homes.

"These people are our neighbors, and their stability and success is a critical part of building a better Minneapolis," Fateh said in a prepared statement.

There are about 7,500 people on the waitlist for family housing.