ELY- Ely took the plunge on Tuesday and gave the greenlight to a $4.56 million grant proposal it is seeking from the Minnesota Housing and Finance Agency (MHFA) for its proposed workforce housing project, called “Wilderness Escape.”
The city council voted to approve the application for the grant at a special meeting Tuesday evening. The city has been working on the application since last summer, including revising its citywide housing study, and the submission is due April 30.
The Legislature allocated $39 million for grants this year, far more than the roughly $3 million typically alloted for the program.
City clerk-treasurer Harold Langowski told the city council that the grant request was based on the latest estimates for the construction of the 37-unit apartment building. “That is the latest cost estimate as of last Friday,” he said. “It still falls within the guidelines of what we can apply for.” He added that the MHFA grant amounts cannot exceed 50 percent of the total project cost.
While Ely is the applicant, the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Agency will be the owner and manager of the Wilderness Escape project. The apartment building will have seven studio units, 15 one-bedroom units in two different sizes, 12 two-bedroom units in two different sizes, and three three-bedroom units.
MHFA will make its grant awards in August. Ely’s economic development consultant, John Fedo, says that Ely is well-positioned to have its grant application approved. When Ely redid its housing study last year, the study reported that Ely had a 0.7 percent vacancy rate for affordable rental housing, so the city’s need is dire. If Ely gets its grant, the project will be the first multifamily housing built in the city in more than 17 years.
Around nine percent of Ely’s workforce commutes from 25 to 50 miles away. Another 20 percent travels to work from over 50 miles away. All employers interviewed in the study had trouble hiring because of a lack of housing.