Check out the original article here: https://www.wdio.com/front-page/top-stories/a-landing-pad-new-grand-marais-apartments-aim-to-keep-workers-local

How a local community stepped up, creating housing in Grand Marais

A new apartment complex in Grand Marais is offering a potential solution to one of Cook County’s biggest challenges: a lack of housing for workers.

The development, known as The Heights at Bluffs, is a 36-unit apartment building designed to provide housing for the local workforce. The modular project, assembled on-site near Highway 61, welcomed its first residents last month, with a dozen families moving in during its opening weekend.

Project leaders say the need for housing in the area has been a persistent barrier to economic growth, often forcing prospective employees to turn down jobs when they cannot find a place to live.

“Across the country, we have a housing shortage, and that shortage seems to be exacerbated in rural areas,” said Gary Latz, the project manager.

The complex is intended to serve as a “landing pad” for workers, offering temporary stability while new residents establish themselves in the community.

“That person then has two weeks to find housing, they can’t do it, they turn the job down. That process repeats itself over and over again, said Latz.

But bringing the project to life was far from simple. Rising interest rates and tightening lending conditions created major financial hurdles, reducing how much banks were willing to loan and forcing developers to find alternative funding sources.

“When we started, interest rates were 5 and 1 by the time we got to closing on our bank loans over a year or so later, it was 7 and 1 by the time. So as the rates went up, the lenders became more skittish and more tight. They said, well, we could have loaned you $5 million a year ago, but now we’re only willing to loan you $4 million. All right. I had to make up the difference,” Latz continued.

In the end, the project relied on a wide network of support, including 51 investors and 18 different funding sources that together raised more than $9 million.

“It’s local folks… it’s cool to see the community stepping up,” said Shaun Floerke, president and CEO of the Boreal Waters Community Foundation.

Residents say the new housing is already making a difference. For some, it has meant the ability to accept jobs in the area, including positions in education and healthcare. Others say it has provided stability and a sense of community that was previously out of reach.

“There really was not a lot to choose from here in Grand Marais,” said resident Teresa England. “So I was really happy to have something to choose from.”

Rents at the complex range from about $1,000 to $2,200 per month, combining market-rate and income-qualified units aimed at workers earning between 60% and 80% of the area median income.

While leaders acknowledge the project will not fully solve the region’s housing shortage, they say it represents an important first step — and a model for what can be achieved through local collaboration.

“This is a small project with a big impact,” Floerke said. “If we lean forward, it makes it easier for someone else to come in.”