James Crumble is a small business owner turned housing developer with a passion for creating affordable homes. He began developing housing in 2022 and now owns 67 units across three buildings in Minneapolis.
One of his buildings, located on Girard Avenue South in Uptown, is what’s known as naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH). These are older buildings with lower rents than typical market-rate apartments. James was able to buy the property with a loan of just over $1 million from the City of Minneapolis Community Planning & Economic Development’s NOAH Preservation Fund and funding from the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.
Keeping and maintaining homes like these allows more people have access to housing they can afford — a goal James sees as central to his work.
“Sometimes people just need that extra chance,” James said. “I think these represent opportunity for people to be able to get that second chance.”
“We can’t solve the affordable housing crisis, but we can at least help hammer at it a little and make some housing more affordable,” he shared.
Photo credit: City of Minneapolis
Seven Experts Set the Stage for Supportive Housing Solutions Minnesota Needs