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One of the first things the Grand Marais City Council did to start 2023 was transfer ten acres of land to the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) of Cook County for one dollar so the land could be used to develop affordable housing.
The property is located at the northwest corner of 5th Avenue West and Gunflint Trail.
To accomplish the transfer, the council approved a quit claim deed that authorized and directed the Mayor and City Administrator to execute two deeds and approve any technical changes that might be needed with the City’s attorney, Chris Hood. The HRA will see to it that the deeds are recorded following the closing with the Cook County Recorder/ Registrar of Titles and pay for that service.
Under terms of the land conveyance, if nothing is built on the property within six years, the land will revert to the City.
When contacted, Jason Hale, the Cook County HRA Director, said, “The project being contemplated at the City property is still in the works, so nothing (including rents) is final, of course. At present, the goal is to start construction this year of a 51-unit apartment building this year, 11 of which will be rented at 50 percent of the area median income. If we are able to get that going by this fall, it will be completed by the end of 2024.”
Council approved a request from Chris Skildum on his Vesta Unchained LLC housing development to have the City apply for a $5,000 grant from the League of Minnesota Cities that, if approved, will help the city “to use with industry partners to ease the process of identifying matching funds to city projects and aid in the grant application projects.”
Council approved the Vesta Unchained Preliminary Plat 24-lot development last summer. The lots are in town along County Road 7. Water and sewer will have to be brought to the building sites, a road built, and power connection from the City’s electrical generator located on Lupin Lane. Skildum has completed most of the design work for utilities and streets. Still, he recently was told by a design engineer that his project needs a booster pump station to provide adequate water pressure for residents and fire protection. The cost of the booster pump is estimated at $500,000.
In his letter to the council, Skildum states, “I appreciate your consideration in requesting some additional resources from the Minnesota League of Cities for the Vesta Plat infrastructure. There are some newly discovered infrastructures cost components that will make this project much more challenging without some help.”
Chris was unable to attend the meeting, but it was noted that he has never requested any financial help for his Vesta Unchained project.
Council approved the request from Skildum and named City Administrator Mike Roth as its fiscal agent for the purpose of applying for the LMC program.
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