TopLine is the first credit union to partner with Rondo Community Land Trust

TopLine Financial Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based member-owned financial services cooperative, partners with Rondo Community Land Trust (RCLT), a non-profit in St. Paul, to help make homeownership affordable for individuals and families earning low-to-moderate incomes, and to preserve affordability for small businesses operated by people of color and non-profits at risk of displacement from rising rents.

TopLine has joined forces with Rondo Community Land Trust as the first credit union to be one of their approved mortgage lenders for their Homebuyer Initiated Program (HIP). This program assists home buyers at or below 80% area median income (AMI) to purchase and make repairs on a single-family home (including duplexes) in St. Paul or Suburban Ramsey County.

The community land trust model assists buyers who have low-to-moderate income to purchase a home through a grant program, making the purchase price more affordable. The homeowner is buying the house, while the community land trust holds the land in a trust, with the homeowner leasing the land in a long-term 99-year, renewable lease. In return for receiving grant funds (which strengthens their buying power), the homebuyer agrees to limit their proceeds when they sell so another individual or family with modest income can afford to purchase the home.

The prospective buyer(s) must attend a Rondo orientation, submit an application with RCLT, and are required to complete a mandatory First-Time Homebuyer’s course. After completion, buyer(s) are eligible to enroll in the Homebuyer Initiated Program in which they will receive two grants to help purchase a home. The Affordability Investment Grant up to $150,000, pairs with a mortgage to strengthen purchasing power, and the Rehab Grant covers the cost of essential repairs and improvements to ensure the structural and mechanical integrity of the home.

“We are excited to partner with Rondo Community Land Trust to combine our shared passion and resources to help make homeownership possible and affordable,” says Mick Olson, TopLine President and CEO. “We are committed to connecting with non-profit community partners such as RCLT, and by working together we can support economic growth and diversity, foster financial inclusion and access, and help more consumers achieve their financial dream of owning a home.”

"At Rondo CLT, we know the transformational impact of homeownership, not just as an asset for generational wealth but as a mechanism for community power and repair," said Mikeya Griffin, Executive Director of Rondo Community Land Trust. "From the Black families in Rondo whose homes were destroyed by the I-94 freeway in the 1960s, to the countless people of color who were blocked from homeownership by racial covenants, we cannot reverse the racial and economic disparities in housing without programs like the Homebuyer Initiated Program. We're honored to provide a pathway for residents to reclaim their agency and choose a home that can be the foundation of their prosperity—now and for generations to come."

Rondo Community Land Trust (RCLT) is a non-profit organization that preserves the affordability of housing and commercial space in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was incorporated in 1993 as the first community land trust in Minnesota, and has expanded its service area to include all of St. Paul and suburban Ramsey County. Rondo’s commitment is to improve the quality of life of community members who the organization serves.

TopLine Financial Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based credit union, is Minnesota’s 9th largest credit union, with assets of over $1.1 billion and serves over 70,000 members. Established in 1935, the not-for-profit financial cooperative offers a complete line of financial services from its ten branch locations — in Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Circle Pines, Coon Rapids, Forest Lake, Maple Grove, Plymouth, St. Francis and in St. Paul’s Como Park — as well as by phone and online at www.TopLinecu.com or www.ahcu.coop. Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in Anoka, Benton, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Pine, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Washington and Wright counties in Minnesota and their immediate family members, as well as employees and retirees of Anoka Hennepin School District #11, Anoka Technical College, Federal Premium Ammunition, Hoffman Enclosures, Inc., GRACO, Inc., and their subsidiaries. TopLine has been recognized as a National Standard Top Workplace for the 6 out of 7 years and has been named the Best Credit Union and Mortgage Lender and finalist for Wealth Management Firm in Minnesota by Twin Cities Business 2024 Best of Business Reader’s Choice Poll.