About

Boldly Committed to Growing and Stabilizing Affordable Communities

Because access to safe, affordable housing is a human right.

BB Housing Begins with First Look

Responding to the foreclosure crisis in 2008, the Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis) piloted NCST’s “First Look” to prevent REO properties from further depressing home values, using HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) resources to acquire pre-market properties from financial institutions at discounted prices. First Look kept foreclosures from flooding the market, but it was only the first step. Run-down properties required rehabilitation, and vacant houses contributed to blight and decay. Meanwhile, the burdens of maintenance and upkeep threatened to drain the coffers of cities like St. Paul. 

Asked to take a closer look, BB Housing directors Loren Brueggemann and Michael Buelow discovered that traditional homeownership could not reliably provide for redevelopment and disposition in a soft housing market. What the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) needed for its Invest St. Paul (ISP) initiative was a partner to restore the homes and convert them into affordable rental housing while maintaining a long-term community presence.

Together, they devised an innovative strategy that remains resilient to the limitations of low-income homeownership, converting real estate owned (REO) properties into affordable housing for rental to low-income families. Altogether, BB Housing transformed over two-dozen properties into high-quality affordable housing for families.

Today BB Housing continues to respond to the affordable housing crisis with proven strategies to grow and protect affordable rental housing, directly benefiting families and strengthening their communities.

Our Mission

  • Increase access to stabilized, safe, and good-quality affordable housing, especially for the nation’s lowest-income households.
  • Enrich neighborhoods through durable, long-term investment while providing support for community-based initiatives and local enterprise.

Our Strategies

  1. NOAH: Naturally Ocurring Affordable Housing
    BB Housing’s NOAH initiative seeks to stabilize and safeguard existing affordable housing by investing in and restoring Class B & C apartment properties. Learn more >
  2. Public-Private Partnerships for New Construction
    BB Housing’s directors have the expertise to effectively leverage public resources and the experience to successfully bring new construction projects through development, construction, and ongoing management. Learn more >
  3. Local Enterprise
    Our commitment to community extends beyond what we build, to how we build it. BB Housing supports the growth of small businesses and disadvantaged business enterprises. Learn more >

"All my friends say, 'Oh my gosh! How did you get this house?' I grew up in this neighborhood. This house looks dramatically different—it’s amazing, how nice it is now. There’s a huge yard, all fenced in. What else can you ask for?”

- DJ, BB Housing Resident