East Side Preservation
87 units of affordable housing preserved through Ramsey County’s 2026 Housing Development Solicitation.
Eighty-seven homes, held affordable for thirty years.
On August 4, 2026, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved two Local Affordable Housing Aid awards to Encephalo Investments, totaling $2 million, under the county’s 2026 Housing Development Solicitation. The awards fund preservation rehabilitation of two multifamily communities the firm already owns and operates on Saint Paul’s East Side.
These are not new buildings. They are naturally occurring affordable housing — older, unsubsidized apartments that have quietly served working households on the East Side for decades, and that reach a point where the systems inside them need real capital or the units come out of the market. The county’s investment is what allows that capital to go in without the rents going up.
- A 30-year affordability covenant on all 87 units — recorded at closing, running with the land.
- 1074 York Avenue — all 32 units restricted at 30% and 50% of Area Median Income.
- 7th Street East — all 55 units restricted between 30% and 60% of Area Median Income.
- Preservation rehabilitation, phased around occupancy — no displacement of existing residents.
York Avenue
A 32-unit community on the East Side, owned since 2023 and operated in-house by Cortex. Every unit will be placed under the county covenant at 30% and 50% AMI. The rehabilitation concentrates first on resident security and the vacant-unit turns that bring homes back into service, then moves through building systems and envelope work.
- Ramsey County LAHA
- 30-year covenant
- 30% & 50% AMI
7th Street East
Five contiguous eleven-unit buildings operated as a single community, owned since 2023. All 55 units will be placed under the county covenant between 30% and 60% AMI. Capital is allocated across all five parcels so that the affordability declaration attaches to each building with real rehabilitation behind it.
- Ramsey County LAHA
- 30-year covenant
- 30%–60% AMI
The work is sequenced in three phases, beginning in late 2026 and running through 2028. Funds draw against completed work rather than disbursing at closing, and every scope is phased around occupancy so that residents stay in their homes through construction.
Security and access
Fob-based building access, camera systems, secured rear entries and vestibules, ground-floor door hardening, and enclosed trash and recycling. Interior turns on vacant units bring homes back into service.
Building systems
Boilers, zone valves, and heating loops. Plumbing risers and sewer line work. Electrical panels and in-unit wiring brought to current code. Life-safety corrections across fire detection, egress, and fire separation.
Envelope
Roofs, windows, and exterior doors. Balcony pillars and structural exterior work. Masonry, tuckpointing, and exterior sealants — the scope that determines whether the first two phases hold for the next thirty years.
Built with Ramsey County, executed in-house.
These awards were made through Ramsey County Community & Economic Development, whose housing team ran the solicitation, visited the buildings, and structured the awards around what the properties actually need. Preservation work of this kind does not happen without a public partner willing to underwrite the unglamorous half of housing policy — the boilers, the risers, the roofs — and the firm is grateful for that partnership.
The rehabilitation is self-performed. ACC, the firm’s in-house construction arm, carries the scope on both properties, and Cortex Property Management continues to operate the communities through construction. That structure is what makes an occupied rehabilitation of this size executable on schedule: the people scheduling the work are the same people who lease the units and take the maintenance calls.
Encephalo has owned on the East Side since 2023 and intends to keep owning there. A thirty-year covenant is a long commitment to a neighborhood. It was made deliberately.
Important disclosures
The information on this page is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, nor does it constitute investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice.
The awards described on this page were approved by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on August 4, 2026 and remain subject to closing, execution of definitive county loan documents, and satisfaction of program conditions. Descriptions of the rehabilitation scope, phasing, and schedule are current plans, are forward-looking, and are subject to change as scoping, permitting, bidding, and construction proceed. No assurance is given that any described scope or schedule will be completed as presented.
Past performance is not indicative of, and is no guarantee of, future results. Any references to specific properties describe particular assets and are not representative of all investments made by the firm. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of some or all principal.