On July 1st, 2026, current residents of Glendale Townhomes received a letter from the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) outlining MPHA’s plans to demolish and rebuild all current Glendale units, while converting the housing from Section 9 public housing to “project-based Section 8 housing”. The very conversion from Section 9 to Section 8 means that MPHA wants to privatize Glendale, which will cost residents, despite what MPHA may say. To understand why, one needs to examine the many misleading claims included in the letter, which was written by MPHA Executive Director Abdi Warsame himself.
Before examining specific claims, it is important to understand MPHA’s policy goals for Glendale. Warsame makes it clear in his letter that MPHA intends to privatize Glendale through Section 18 Demolition and Disposition and Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) – two federal programs that allow public housing authorities to transfer ownership of public housing to a private entity, while changing the subsidy mechanism from fixed rent to a Section 8 voucher. Meanwhile, banks and nonprofit housing developers lease the public land from the city for an average of 99 years and often for as low as $1, while receiving low-income housing tax credits and affordable housing funds from various governmental agencies. MPHA justifies its use of RAD by pointing to better funding opportunities – it conveniently downplays that much of the new funding lines developers’ pockets.
Misleading claims about housing costs post-privatization
First, Warsame’s letter assures Glendale residents that their rent will not change as a result of this construction. Beginning in 2018, MPHA privatized several hundred “Scattered Site” single-family Section 9 homes. Residents of these homes experienced dramatic hikes in fees and other charges after privatization. Specifically, residents were burdened by additional “wear and tear” fees for general maintenance and, in some cases, a $1000 “PBV HAP Charge” with no context for this fee,
Additionally, after conversion, rent itself was no longer calculated at 30% of residents’ annual income and was instead subsidized through a Section 8 voucher, with a subsidy amount subject to change.
Lies about resident engagement
Warsame also claims that “MPHA staff led extensive resident engagement efforts” related to the future of Glendale. However, they neglect to mention that MPHA held only up to 3 meetings during working hours, with an average turnout of only 2-4 residents for most of them. Holding meetings with such little turnout during working hours, towards the end of the day when families are taking their children to day care or after-school programs, MPHA knew the turnout would not be huge in order to undermine and exclude the majority of Glendale families who are being evicted and displaced.
Additionally, MPHA claims to have assembled a resident advisory group to gather feedback on Glendale construction plans. Supposedly, this group was formed democratically and regularly consulted throughout the “resident engagement” process. This group is another facade. It was handpicked by MPHA, and its monthly meetings rarely yielded more than four of its fifteen members. The most recent meeting listed on MPHA’s website, held in May 2026, only included two resident advisory group members.
Claiming that resident engagement has been “extensive” is a bald-faced lie. If there had been considerable engagement and respect for current residents’ opinions, this letter would not have shocked many Glendale families.
No relocation plans
Finally, Warsame claims that MPHA will work with current residents to offer specialized relocation plans and relocation funds. However, throughout the 3 meetings MPHA held to gather resident feedback, Warsame has not offered any specific examples or tangible steps toward relocating current Glendale residents. Additionally, the promise of relocation has historically been an empty one for public housing residents, as was the case for residents of the privatized Elliot Twins Apartments.
Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition