A St. Paul program is accepting applications from descendants of families that were displaced from the Rondo neighborhood and West Side Flats, and who are trying to buy a home.
The West Side Community Organization, a St. Paul nonprofit that serves residents of the long-established Mexican community near downtown St. Paul, is hosting two free informational sessions about the program on Tuesday, June 24, and Thursday, June 26.
The program, called the Inheritance Fund, offers up to $110,000 for a 15-year deferred loan at 0% interest to cover a down payment, closing costs or interest rate buydown for residents purchasing homes in St. Paul. To be eligible, applicants must come from families who lost their homes during the construction of the I-94 in the historically Black Rondo neighborhood in the 1950s, or who were displaced from the West Side Flats in the 1960s to make way for the Riverview Industrial Park.
Thirteen recipients have already received loans since the program launched in 2023. It was originally designed to address the Rondo displacement, but expanded on June 13, 2025, to include the West Side Flats after a research project detailed the lingering effects of that displacement.
The Rondo neighborhood was a historical Black community that had more than 600 homes and 300 businesses. The West Side Flats were home to more than 2,147 residents, many of them Mexican Americans.
The West Side Community Organization commissioned the research report and published it last year. The organization is working with the city to help verify applicants’ ties to the West Side Flats.
Linda Castillo, who lived in the West Side Flats as a child, told Sahan Journal last summer that she hoped the city would invest in affordable housing for families affected by the displacement, including her children and grandchildren.
“Fix up our community, that’s what I feel,” Castillo said.
Here’s what you should know if you’re considering applying for the program:
How can I learn more about the program?
The West Side Community Organization is hosting two informational sessions about the program this week at their office:
- Tuesday, June 24, 209 Page St. W., 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, June 26, 209 Page St. W., 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
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The sessions will also include conversations about creating a memorial, supporting the families of renters who were displaced from the West Side Flats and other recommendations in the research report.
“We’re absolutely excited that things are moving in the right direction, and we’re fired up to keep that going,” said Julia Diaz, communications coordinator at West Side Community Organization.
The city also has more information about the Inheritance Fund.
Am I eligible for this program?
One of the main requirements for eligibility is having a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who lost their property in the Rondo neighborhood or the West Side Flats during those displacement events. Legally adopted children are also eligible.
Applicants must also meet household income requirements that are calculated based on the number of individuals in the home. Check the city’s website for a list of different income thresholds.
A family of five has to make a combined median household income of $143,000 or less to qualify.
What does the program offer?
The program offers four different types of financial awards that vary depending on the applicant’s household median income level, the location of the home they want to purchase and whether they would be the first in their family to own a home.
Awards vary from $50,000 to $110,000 per recipient, depending on many different factors. The program has $2 million in funding available, and will temporarily pause when it runs out. When more funding is available, the application window will reopen.
Applicants could potentially receive up to $100,000 if they meet the income requirement, have never owned a home, and if their parents never owned a home or lost a home to foreclosure.
The financial award is a deferred loan with 0% interest over a 15-year period, meaning that recipients do not have to make monthly payments to anyone, and the loan is forgiven after 15 years. The only condition is that the recipient lives in the house they purchased with the loan for the next 15 years.
If the recipient sells the house or leaves before then, they will have to pay some of the loan’s remaining balance.
What’s the application process for West Side Flats descendants?
The first step is to review the program’s guidelines. Applicants must be pre-approved for a mortgage, complete homebuyer education training and present evidence of their family’s displacement.
Applicants must send an interest form to the city, which will be evaluated. If they are pre-approved, they will receive an official application to apply for the program. Awards are given on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the number of applications being considered at any given time varies widely.
“There could be a span of a few borrowers to several more,” St. Paul’s interim housing supervisor, Rachel Finazzo Doll, said in a written statement.
The length of time between applying and receiving an award depends on how quickly applicants submit documents and their timeline for purchasing a home, she added.
The application requires documents such as tax forms, pay stubs, financial statements and proof of education enrollment if there are any members of the household who are full-time students 18 years or older.
The official application includes a descendancy verification form, which needs to be filled out and sent to the West Side Community Organization, Diaz said, adding that she verifies family connections through historical documents. The form asks for the name and original address of the relative who was displaced from the West Side Flats.
If the address is unknown, Diaz will follow up with the applicant and consult with historical specialists to verify the family’s connection.
There is no limit on the number of people who can apply from one family, she added.
The application window remains open until funding runs out.
