CommonBond Communities Lawsuit: Eldred Case, Layoffs, HUD Grant

The most recent federal lawsuit against CommonBond Communities, Eldred v. CommonBond Communities, was filed in March 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and dismissed in September 2024 after the parties privately settled. The docket does not describe the allegations, and the settlement terms were not disclosed. The case arrived while the St. Paul-based nonprofit affordable housing provider was working through a much larger set of problems: a roughly $55.6 million drop in total assets, 117 layoffs, the outsourcing of all property management, a frozen $3.8 million federal grant, and tenant complaints about conditions at some of its buildings.

What the Eldred Case Involved

The suit was docketed as 0:24-cv-00911, assigned to Judge Susan Richard Nelson, with Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung handling pretrial matters.¹ The publicly available docket does not detail the specific allegations or legal claims a plaintiff identified as Eldred brought against the nonprofit.

The case moved fast. A pretrial scheduling order and discovery deadlines were entered in May 2024, and a stipulated protective order followed the same month. A settlement conference had been set for August 1, 2024, but Magistrate Judge Leung canceled it on July 29 after the parties reported they had reached a settlement.² The parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal on September 9, 2024, Judge Nelson signed a dismissal order that day, and the clerk entered judgment on September 10. The case is closed with no remaining proceedings, and the settlement terms were not made public.¹

The Financial Picture Behind the Case

CommonBond’s 2024 consolidated financial statements show a net decrease in total assets of roughly $55.6 million, on top of a $33.6 million decrease the year before. The operating deficit before other income and expense items came to about $30.8 million.³

Inside those numbers: a $28.3 million impairment loss, a $5 million loss from the deconsolidation of a housing community, and nearly $39.8 million in property held for sale, a line item that had been zero in 2023. Bad debt from unpaid rent totaled about $2.1 million, and repairs and maintenance expenses climbed to $39.6 million from $28.8 million the prior year. The independent auditor’s report noted that management was required to evaluate whether conditions raised “substantial doubt” about the organization’s ability to continue as a going concern.³

CEO Deidre Schmidt attributed the strain to economic uncertainty and years of declining public funding for affordable housing. A third-party strategic review concluded CommonBond could no longer financially sustain the distressed properties in its aging portfolio. The organization began selling assets, including Rainbow Plaza in Anoka and Boulder Ridge in Apple Valley, and had purchase agreements in place for five more properties as of October 2025. CommonBond said it was prioritizing local buyers willing to maintain long-term affordability obligations.⁴

117 Layoffs and a New Property Manager

In May 2025, CommonBond announced it would eliminate 117 positions at its St. Paul headquarters, more than half of its central workforce. The cuts hit the property management department and related roles, with terminations scheduled to begin July 18, 2025, and run through January 31, 2026. The organization filed a WARN Act notice with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development confirming the layoffs were permanent.⁵⁶

The layoffs paired with a decision to fully outsource property management. CommonBond had already shifted roughly half its portfolio to regional firms including ACC Management Group, Lloyd Management, and MetroPlains Management after a 2023 search that showed limited third-party capacity in the Twin Cities region.⁷ Starting in 2026, The Community Builders, a Boston-based nonprofit that manages about 12,000 homes nationally, will take over the remaining portfolio. Many affected employees were offered the chance to interview with The Community Builders for positions at the same properties.⁶

After the transition, CommonBond expects to retain roughly 107 employees focused on its Advantage Services resident programs, real estate asset management, oversight of the outside managers, and fundraising. It will no longer self-manage any of its housing sites.⁸

The Frozen HUD Grant at Vista Village

Vista Village, a 50-year-old CommonBond property in St. Paul, was awarded a $3.8 million grant in October 2024 through HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, created under the Inflation Reduction Act. It was the only Minnesota project to receive funding through the program.⁹

The money was meant to address serious physical deterioration. Residents reported faulty furnaces, ice forming on the inside of cracked windows in winter, water-damaged flooring, and an outdated fire alarm system. The grant was to fund a new heating system, replacement windows, and energy efficiency upgrades.¹⁰

The Trump administration permanently froze the funds at the direction of the Department of Government Efficiency. Schmidt confirmed the money never reached CommonBond, and the planned repairs stalled. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and U.S. Senator Tina Smith publicly criticized the freeze and called for the federal government to honor the commitment.¹¹

Tenant Complaints at Bii Di Gain Dash Anwebi

Financial strain has shown up in living conditions at some CommonBond buildings. At the Bii Di Gain Dash Anwebi apartments in Minneapolis, co-owned by CommonBond and the American Indian Community Development Corporation, residents reported broken heaters, unrepaired smoke damage, recurring burglaries, and inadequate air conditioning. Some tenants filed rent escrow actions, and one resident alleged discriminatory behavior by a staff member.¹²

A June 2023 HUD inspection identified “serious deficiencies,” including damaged doors and fencing, a leaking central water supply, mold-damaged walls, and overgrown vegetation. CommonBond certified that repairs were completed by November 2023, though residents disputed the adequacy of the work. The city of Minneapolis had also flagged the building’s rental license as expired since March 2023, and CommonBond renewed it only after the city posted a public notice that November. CommonBond acknowledged the property was operating at an “unsustainable deficit” due to deferred maintenance, lower rent revenues, and rising expenses.¹²

Rent Control Opposition and Dominium Ties

CommonBond was among several large affordable housing developers that opposed HF3350, a 2024 Minnesota bill that would have capped rent increases at senior housing complexes receiving federal low-income housing tax credits.¹³ In written testimony, CommonBond and other developers argued the legislation could force providers to defer maintenance or cut staff.¹⁴ Adam Faitek, CommonBond’s vice president of resource development, said the organization believes rent subsidies are “the best way to ensure that households are not rent-burdened without harming the property and service levels.”¹⁵

Critics pointed to CommonBond’s financial and personnel connections to Dominium, a for-profit developer that spent $300,000 opposing a 2021 rent control ordinance in St. Paul. Dominium is a financial supporter of CommonBond, and the two organizations share personnel history: Dominium’s senior managing partner Paul Sween served as CommonBond’s capital campaign co-chair, and Dominium’s COO Kyle Hansen formerly chaired CommonBond’s board. Tenant advocates accused larger nonprofits like CommonBond of “carrying water for the private developers” by aligning with industry groups against stronger rent protections. Faitek said Dominium has “no control or influence on policy positions we develop as an organization.”¹⁵

A Separate Case Where CommonBond Received Settlement Funds

A different lawsuit sometimes confused with cases against CommonBond is Linda Cobb Thompson v. St. Anthony Leased Housing Associates II, LP, et al. That class action, handled by the University of Minnesota Law School’s Consumer Protection Clinic and the Housing Justice Center, was brought by low-income senior tenants against the owner and manager of a rent-restricted housing complex, referred to collectively as “Dominium,” for charging excessive rents.¹⁶

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the federal fair market rent limit is the applicable standard for determining rent caps in state bond-financed housing projects, rejecting the developer’s argument for a different calculation method.¹⁷ The parties settled in January 2025 for nearly $204,000, with more than $166,000 going directly to overcharged tenants as full reimbursement. The settlement also directed $28,000 to two nonprofits, CommonBond and Agate Housing and Services, to support their work with people experiencing housing issues. CommonBond was a recipient of settlement funds in that case, not a defendant.¹⁶

1
CourtListener. Eldred v. CommonBond Communities
2
PACER Monitor. Eldred v. CommonBond Communities
3
CommonBond Communities. 2024 Consolidated Financial Statement
4
Finance & Commerce. CommonBond Property Sales Affordable Housing
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Minnesota DEED. WARN 2025 CommonBond
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Star Tribune. St. Paul Affordable Housing Nonprofit To Lay Off Property Management Team, Outsource Jobs
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CommonBond Communities. An Update From CommonBond Communities
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Twin Cities Business. CommonBond Affordable Housing Nonprofit To Lay Off 117
9
Minnesota Reformer. DOGE Cancels Nearly $4 Million in Federal Funds Meant To Rehab Affordable Apartments
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Star Tribune. A St. Paul Housing Complex Was the Only Minnesota Property Awarded a First-of-Its-Kind HUD Grant. The Money Isn’t Coming
11
CBS News Minnesota. St. Paul Affordable Housing Federal Funding Freeze
12
Star Tribune. Elder Housing in South Minneapolis Protests and Reveal Wider Challenge Affordable Housing Providers
13
Minnesota House of Representatives. Session Daily Story 18131
14
Minnesota Reformer. Low-Income Seniors Push for Rent Control at Affordable Housing Complexes
15
Shelterforce. Affordable Housing Sector Split on Rent Control
16
University of Minnesota Law School. Consumer Protection Clinic Helps Low-Income Seniors Gain Settlement Excessive Rent
17
University of Minnesota Law Magazine. Clinic Scores an Impactful Win Before Minnesota Supreme Court