LS Black Development's vice presidents share a vision for the company — and a friendship
Mike Hudson (left) and Willy Boulay of LS Black Construction stand near their Lowertown site at 554 Broadway Street, St Paul, Minn.
NANCY KUEHN | MSPBJ
Willy Boulay and Mike Hudson were friends for close to five years beforethey became vice presidents in St. Paul-based LS Black Development, a multifamily developer with a focus on affordable apartments.
That bond formed after both started work on the same day in 2015 at Plymouth-based Dominium, one of the nation’s largest affordable housing developers, and it eventually led to the two of them becoming co-owners of a duplex investment property. However, it was their background in affordable housing that caught the attention of LS Black Constructors CEO Sterling Black, the second-generation owner of the St. Paul-based contractor.
Launched in 2020 as an offshoot of that company, LS Black Development currently has two affordable apartment projects in the works, one in Northeast Minneapolis and another in Lowertown St. Paul. The St. Paul project is mixed-use with an office component, one that could serve as the future headquarters for LS Black Development — an exciting prospect for two St. Paul Saints season-ticket holders, who could potentially walk out of work and through the gates of nearby CHS Field.
Boulay and Hudson recently spoke with the Business Journal about that project and what lies ahead for LS Black Development, in the Twin Cities and beyond. The interview has been edited and condensed.
How did you find the Lowertown St. Paul location for your second project, and what was the appeal of that site?
Boulay: It’s actually a building that’s owned by Sterling. Right now, it’s operating as LS Black Constructors’ workshop, where they store equipment and supplies. We love the site, and for us, the closer that you can be to transit and job access for our residents is awesome.
Hudson: We’re about a 10-minute walk to Region’s Hospital, less than a 10-minute walk to CHS Field and then a 15-minute walk to Union Depot. From an access standpoint, it’s pretty unbelievable. And having control of the site obviously helped our efforts there, as well.
How does access to transit factor into siting your projects?
Boulay: Any site that’s good for housing is good for affordable housing — [but] specifically when there’s access to alternative-transportation modes and job centers so folks don’t need to have that added expense of a car.
Where we see opportunities are places where the market rents are very, very high. Lowertown is a desirable place to live, and usually that means it prices out most of the residents that we serve.
Construction costs are soaring right now. Is that having any impact on these projects?
Hudson: We obviously have the benefit of having a sister construction company upstairs, so we’re working hand-in-hand with them and our designers and engineers to constantly check pricing and look for ways to be more efficient in the building and its design, which I think benefits us quite a bit. But there’s no doubt those prices have an impact on these deals and make them harder to put together.
Boulay: Our rents are set federally. A market-rate project potentially could change their operations or increase their rents when they experience a problem. But, obviously, that’s what makes it even more challenging for affordable projects, is that they’re not able to do that. You just absorb the impact as best you can.
What’s next?
Hudson: We have one piece of land under contract in a suburb just south of Dallas, Texas, which is another market that Willy and I have done a lot of work in with our previous employers, so we’re very familiar with the way things work down there and the markets. And we’re also looking for new opportunities here, locally.