Nanapush LLC housing developer Jane Penner and Cook County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Executive Director Jeff Brand are pleased to announce that the Department of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) Advisory board has awarded $350,000 to the Norra Skogen workforce housing project in Grand Marais.
In July, the HRA submitted a grant application to the Department of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) board on behalf of Nanapush LLC for the final engineering, surveying, and completion of street improvements in preparation for the construction of 12 single-family homes. The homes will be built in Grand Marais on the northeast side of town in the partially completed Norra Skogen addition. The creation of the CIC, or common interest community, will limit ownership of these homes to people living and working within Cook County; second home ownership and short-term rentals will be prohibited by the Norra Skogen CIC.
Jane Penner, the developer for the Norra Skogen project, said, “We are incredibly grateful to the IRRR for supporting Norra Skogen. The formidable cost of infrastructure installation in Cook County almost derailed this project multiple times, and we are thrilled to be able to finally move forward with our plans. Our mission is to enable affordable home ownership for people who live and work in Cook County, and we feel very lucky to have the IRRR as a partner as we bring this vision to life!”
Executive Director Jeff Brand said, “We continue to work on projects and developments that will meet the critical need in Cook County. Having serious partners that are equally committed to our housing challenges are more important than ever as we face federal and state funding challenges in the near future.” Brand attended the IRRR Advisory board meeting in person on September 25th to answer any questions. He reported that both Senator Grant Hauschild and Representative Roger Skraba were among board members in attendance and that they supported the funding in a unanimous decision. During the meeting, Senator Hauschild pointed out that two students could participate with the local contractor to provide hands-on training in carpentry during the home construction phase of the project. He held the grant application as a model for creating new opportunities for the next generation of skilled laborers in our region.
In all, the IRRR invested $2,078,000 to leverage a total of $21,529,440 in housing investment across the Taconite Authority Area (TAA). That area includes Cook, Crow Wing, Itasca, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties.
