First Homes Initiative Receives Match from Mayo Clinic

Rochester Area Foundation's First Homes Initiative has received a final boost of financial support from the Mayo Clinic, which has awarded a $1 million fund match to the initiative. The donation is the Mayo Clinic's last installment on its pledge of $7 million for First Homes.

First Homes has received $14.4 million in donations since its inception in 1999. The money has leveraged many times that amount to help income-qualified individuals and families purchase new homes in a 30-mile radius of Rochester.

First Homes is nearing its goal of building 875 new residences in the region. Since funding kicked off in 2000, almost 600 new residences have been built with First Homes' funds, including 358 new single-family homes and 229 new below-market-rate rental units.

Of the 358 new single-family homes built, a total of 62 are in the program's community land trust, in which First Homes retains ownership of the land in an effort to keep housing costs low. A total of 715 family members are living in new single-family homes thanks to the First Homes initiative.

First Homes single-family homes and rental units have been built or are in the process of being built in Byron, Chatfield, Dover, Grand Meadow, Hayfield, Kasson, Pine Island, Plainview, Rochester, St. Charles and Spring Valley.

Mayo Clinic's $7 million donation included $4 million to launch the project and $3 million that was pledged to match other community contributions. The Rochester Area Foundation also contributed $1 million to jump-start the initiative.

For more information on First Homes, visit www.FirstHomes.org.

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