Housing for All, Age-Friendly Maple Grove Update by Lydia Morken

AGE-FRIENDLY MAPLE GROVE SUB-COMMITTEE ON HOUSING

Age-Friendly Maple Grove’s (AF MG) housing team focuses on how to provide more affordable housing for the city’s older residents.

People ages 55 and older comprise a growing share of the city’s population—nearly 28% as of 2019, up from 18% in 2010 and 11% in 2000. In many cases, long-time residents need to down-size from their homes to apartments or condominiums and want to remain near their families, friends, churches, and doctors, but they can’t afford to do so.

AF MG’s housing subcommittee, chaired by Lydia Morken, recently developed a Housing Brief that was submitted to Joe Hogeboom, the city’s Community Development Director.

Mr. Hogeboom told the committee that city administrator Heidi Nelson suggested that AF MG participate in a work session with the City Council over the summer to talk about senior housing, including recommendations in the Housing Brief. The timing of the meeting will be after July 4th.

The group is hopeful that some of the ideas in the brief will be pursued by the city of Maple Grove, as the issue of affordable housing is an urgent one for older residents.

Age-Friendly Maple Grove is a community-driven, City-sponsored initiative to make Maple Grove a better place to grow older. Learn more at www.agefriendlymaplegrove.org.