The Lake County Housing and Redevelopment Authority Board met last week to review ongoing progress with regard to providing needed housing across the county.
Lakeview Apartments needed emergency roof repairs at a cost of $67,000. Money has been budgeted for maintenance and upkeep at Lakeview but unfortunately, the roof repair bit into that fund and may temporarily delay the completion of the ADA (Americans With Disabilities) compliant apartment that the HRA board has planned. Lake County HRA Executive Director, Matthew Johnson, said that an additional apartment has been fully remodeled and a new tenant will be moving in by the end of the month. There has been a need for a property manager at Lakeview for quite some time and Johnson said that he is in conversation with an individual to fill that position.
Senator Grant Hauschild and Representative Roger Skraba are working to include the Silverpoint II project (Silver Bay) in the State Bonding Bill. A market feasibility study conducted by Maxfield Research in 2024 concluded that demand exists in Silver Bay for up to 48 market-rate units. Silverpointe II, when completed, will provide 27 market-rate one and two-bedroom apartments. This proposed project has widespread support from North Shore Mining, William Kelley Schools and the Department of Veterans Affairs, all of whom have indicated that there is not enough rental housing available in the city to keep up with the demand for their workforce. The total development cost for the Silverpoint II project is estimated at $6,933,130 and local funding in the amount of $3,483,130 has been secured through the Lake County Board (Bonds), The Lake County Housing Trust Fund, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRR) and the Lake County HRA.
Lack of housing is the number one issue that is slowing economic development in Lake County. Local employers, big and small, are all having trouble filling positions due to the fact that affordable housing is scarce. While progress addressing this need may seem slow, the Lake County HRA has come a long way in the past year. The organizational structure needed to actually begin the process of funding and building housing units is in place. Discussions and plans for land acquisition and new housing projects are underway and officials at both the City and County level are working collaboratively to move things forward.
In a report issued by Reuters last June, The Biden administration allocated $85 million in housing funds to 21 state and local governments to help with removing barriers to the development of affordable housing units. Additional funds for housing were promised prior to Biden leaving office. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is now being targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency crew. Providing housing is a big deal. States and municipalities have some ability to fund housing initiatives, but funding from the Federal government is also necessary. Data on Federal funding for housing has been scrubbed from HUD websites. Let’s hope DOGE doesn’t derail efforts to provide affordable housing in Lake County because there are many folks who are working hard to remedy the housing issue in our area.
