The St. Paul City Council approved three ambitious efforts on housing plans Wednesday, including a $3 million, $300-per-month rent subsidy for 250 low-income families who have children in any of seven St. Paul Public Schools and pay at least 40 percent of their income toward rent.

Families can be enrolled for up to three years of the five-year pilot program.

The lion’s share of funding will come from a $10 million Housing Trust Fund the city created, which is being supplemented annually with city, state, Metropolitan Council and federal sources.

“We set up the Affordable Housing Trust Fund this year, and passed a historic measure on affordable housing,” said Council Member Chris Tolbert, who chairs the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority. “This is a creative way we wanted to go after affordable housing and improve people’s lives. Our focus has been on production and preservation, but this is for people who might not necessarily qualify for the other programs but still need assistance.”

Another $1.5 million from the Housing Trust Fund will be dedicated toward a down-payment assistance program for middle-income families who need assistance buying homes.

The city will provide up to $40,000 in no-interest loans to families earning no more than 60 percent of area median income, or roughly $60,000 annually for a family of four, for homes that meet certain price limits and are located in eligible areas.

Payment on the loans can be deferred for 30 years, or until the home is sold.

Meeting as the HRA, the council also allocated more than $900,000 in federal low-income housing tax credits toward three construction projects.

Wellington Management plans 40 units of affordable housing at 625 W. University Ave.

JB Vang Partners plan 45 new units of affordable housing in the Parkway, at East Seventh Street and Bush Avenue. Most of the units will be targeted to families earning no more than 50 percent of area median income, or roughly $50,000 for a family of four.

At 617 Stryker Ave., the Neighborhood Development Alliance plans 57 new affordable senior apartments at Stryker Senior Housing. Most of the units will be targeted to seniors earning no more than 30 percent of area median income.

RENT HELP AT SEVEN SCHOOLS

Referrals to the rent subsidy program will come from school officials at the Dayton’s Bluff, John A. Johnson, St. Paul Music Academy, Benjamin E. Mays, Maxfield, Jackson and St. Paul City schools.

The program, to begin in January, is targeted to families earning no more than 30 percent of area median income, or roughly $30,000 per year for a family of four, and are not receiving other types of rental assistance.

To qualify, families must have at least one child in pre-K to third grade at one of the schools, which are located in the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood or in the Wilder “Achievement Plus” schools, two groups of schools designated for targeted services because of the vulnerable populations they serve.

A steering committee will be composed of the St. Paul Public Housing Authority, partnering schools, the YWCA, Model Cities, the Community Stabilization Project and the Wilder Foundation.

About 5 percent of students enrolled in the St. Paul Public Schools have experienced homelessness over the previous year, according to surveys.

Council Member Jane Prince said the effort marks a new chapter for the sometimes unwieldy relationship between the city and school district.

“The partnerships between the city and the public schools are often kind of overwrought, or fraught, or difficult for a number of different reasons,” Prince said. “What a huge step forward this is for the city on the whole issue of family homelessness.”

Council Member Dai Thao said many of the schools are located in his ward, Ward 1, and the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood, but the families affected come from many different corners of the city.

Council Member Rebecca Noecker praised the focus on families with young children in schools with high levels of renters and transience.

The HRA will use $3 million from the city’s Housing Trust Fund for rent subsidies and associated administrative costs.

In addition, the city is seeking $500,000 from charitable foundations to fund supportive services for the families, with the major contributor to date being the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation.