November 10, 2020

County looking at getting out of the landlord business

County looking at getting out of the landlord business

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

After funding the construction of the Wolf Run Village housing complex in 2013 and 2016 to help meet the demand for essential worker housing, the McKenzie County commissioners are now looking at their options to put those units on the market.
“In 2012 when we started the Wolf Run Village project it was set up as a non-profit to deal with our daycare issues and the severe need for essential housing when we couldn’t get teachers or law enforcement personnel because rent was so high,” stated Commissioner Gene Veeder, during the county commission meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 4. “We want to get out of these housing units.”
But according to Veeder, in order to make the sale more attractive to prospective buyers, the county may need to buy down some of the mortgage and to see if the state will agree to forgive some of the loans.
Wolf Run Village consists of two complexes with 42 condos that were built in 2013 at a cost of $3.4 million, while 20 essential worker apartments were built in 2016 at a cost of $2.3 million.
“The goal was not to provide long-term housing,” stated Veeder. “They were small, transitional units.”

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