The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority met on Thursday morning at Valley Tech Park.
EICKHOF BOULEVARD LOTS
The board continued discussions on CHEDA-owned lots on Eickhof Boulevard near Nature View Estates. CHEDA has developed other lots in that area over the past few years, but the goal is to find a suitable builder to develop the three remaining properties into residential housing and accelerate their development.
“What we discussed today was what kind of system we would use to select who ultimately would get these lots”, said Taylor Wyum, Community Director. “We’re hoping there’s a lot of interest. We talked about setting up a lottery system, so now my next task is to move forward and check with our city attorney and kind of get all the ducks in a row.”
A key selling point to future developers is the proximity of the lots to nearby schools and businesses on the city’s ever-growing north side.
“There’s been quite a bit of growth on the north side of town in the last many years, and so I think it’s a good spot to develop,” Wyum noted. “It’s relatively close to the school. It’s really close to the Crookston Sports Center. I think a lot of people would be really happy living there.”
BROADWAY PROPERTY ENGINEERING
Another topic discussed at the meeting was the publishing of a site civil engineering RFP for a three-and-a-half-acre lot owned by CHEDA south of Casey’s on North Broadway. The board approved issuing an RFP to civil engineers and site planners to potentially develop the lot into residential housing.
“Over the last year, we’ve been talking a lot about what’s been referred to as the Casey’s Housing Project or sometimes the Broadway Villas. That’s this project,” said Wyum. “And so we’re just taking the next step, looking to hire a civil engineer to help us get the ball rolling on moving forward with that project and hopefully doing some construction in the next year.”
The RFP will be reviewed by city staff before being posted for at least 21 days. Any RFP’s received would be opened at a public meeting before further discussion and action by the board.
NEW PROJECT COORDINATOR AND SUMMER INTERN
The board unanimously approved the contract for new Project Coordinator Ashley Brekken, who began in her role on May 11. She will work closely with Wyum on CHEDA projects like the Broadway RFP process and Eickhof Boulevard developer search. CHEDA will also have a summer intern in a collaborative effort with the University of Minnesota-Crookston.
“We’re very lucky to have been able to collaborate with UMC and their student interns for the past handful of years,” Wyum said. “We’ve had really good experiences thus far. I anticipate this summer will be just the same.”
OTHER AGENDA ITEMS
Other items on the agenda included the approval of a new payroll system for the housing authority, discussion on switching to a new insurance provider for the Oak Court Apartments, and continued discussion on the potential of levies for the economic development and housing authorities. The board also approved $124,334.21 in payables for the month.
The next Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 25 at 7:00 a.m. at Valley Tech Park , 510 County Road 71.
