After more than five years of looking at different ways to fund senior housing in the West End, the Tofte Town Board got some good news at its Thursday, January 9 meeting.
The Iron Range Resources Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) has awarded a $235,000 infrastructure grant to the township that will be used to help erect a 10-unit single structure building that will sit somewhere on 29 acres of land owned by the township.
“We applied for $350,000, but they [IRRRB] were a little short of money for this funding cycle,” said Tofte Supervisor Paul James. “They told us we could come back in July and reapply for the balance. They seemed to have liked the project, so we’ll just have to hope for the best and wait and see,” James said.
Earlier in the day the supervisors traveled to Duluth to meet with Jody Anderson from DSGW Architects at her office to discuss a strategy to reconfigure the development site and revisit the housing unit design. Also attending the meeting was a representative of Dynamic Homes and Dick Grabko and Gary Lammpa of Community Connections.
“We decided that Dynamic Homes would develop the homes. We went to St. Joseph, Minnesota earlier this year and looked at a senior housing development that they built and we were impressed,” James said.
To save on cost the group decided to erect a single structure building. “But we don’t want it to look institutional. We want the units to be staggered and have an individual look. Innovation will be the key. We also talked about putting up a gazebo or garden in front to give it a homier feel.
“The units will be two-bedroom and be 850 square feet. We will have connecting hallways and a common room so people can socialize. There will also be a laundry room and a centralized boiler room. Because they won’t have to have a furnace or, if they choose to do their laundry in the laundry area, it will open up the apartments more,” James said.
Just where the building will sit is still up for debate. James said there are Lake Superior views on the west end of the property, but it would be cheaper to build it on the east end of the property.
One thing that is still being strongly considered is finding a way to funnel some of the excess heat from the Birch Grove Community Center to the senior housing.
“If we can do that, we might also qualify for an energy efficiency grant from the IRRRB,” James said.
As far as building single car garages, James said they are not affordable. But Dynamic Homes built a large pole barn for cold storage and cars at its St. Joseph site, and the residents use it and like it, James said.
“Because it doesn’t have dividers, there is a lot of room for cars. There are electric plug-ins and people can work on their cars there if they need to,” he said.
The Tofte supervisors will have a third meeting with Ehlers & Associates on February 5 to discuss bonding for senior housing. The township will own the building and James said he is hoping to get 3 to 4 percent on publicly issued bonds. Before any building takes place, James said public meetings would be held with residents of the comunity. “We need to get their ideas and input,” James said.
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