After being rebuffed in its recent efforts to secure future lots for the affordable homes it builds with partner families, in the span of two city meetings Monday evening at city hall, the Crookston Area Habitat for Humanity chapter was able to secure two lots on opposite ends of town, giving the chapter three on which to build.
At the Crookston City Council meeting, a resolution to sell to Habitat another lot in Eickhof's Third Resubdivision north of Highland School was approved. Habitat has constructed several homes in that neighborhood over the years, and, with the latest purchase, has two lots remaining there. Then, at a city Finance Committee meeting after the council meeting, the city agreed to waive approximately $1,300 in assessments on the tax-forfeited corner lot at 736 Hunter Street in the Woods Addition, clearing the way for Habitat to buy it from Polk County for $500. The home on the lot was previously demolished.
Dale Knotek, president of the local Habitat chapter board, said the chapter is currently in the process of selecting its next partner family. When the family is chosen, he said, they'll have the option of picking the lot on which they want to build a home.
It's a positive turn of events for Crookston Habitat, which, a few months ago, sought to secure some property on the former Franklin School site to build as many as five homes. A groundswell of neighborhood opposition arose and, during the debates that ensued, it was suggested that Habitat not try to concentrate homes in a single area, but instead look for available, affordable lots throughout the community. Many of them are tax-forfeited and, therefore, available for a low price.
The lot at 736 Hunter was specifically mentioned numerous times during those discussions.
"During the Franklin School discussion, we kind of steered them toward this type of approach, so we should probably approve (waiving the assessment)," council member Keith Mykleseth said.
MMCDC
The Detroit Lakes-based Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation, which has built numerous houses in Crookston's northeast corner over the years and also made the $2 million in new market tax credit equity available for the Crookston Sports Center, wants to continue doing business in Crookston.
The committee on Monday approved options on two more lots in Eickhof's Third Resubdivision, the last two lots available in the neighborhood, on which MMCDC plans to construct homes within two years.
The timing is ideal, explained City Clerk/Treasurer Betty Arvidson, because the tax-increment financing (TIF) district in the neighborhood will expire at the end of 2011. "It's a nice incentive because it buys down the cost of those homes even further," she said. The timing is also right because MMCDC just sold its last home available for purchase.
Arvidson said it's been a pleasure working with MMCDC over the years.
"They've been a really good partner for us, and they want to secure their continued success in this community," she said.
