Dawn Mant, executive director of the Red River Regional Council, told the Grand Forks County Commission that a regional housing study found a substantial shortfall of homes in the council’s four-county region and described several initiatives the council and partners are pursuing to increase supply.

The study, presented by Lisa Roffel of the Red River Community Housing Development Organization, concluded the region needs about 4,800 additional housing units between now and 2030 and identified entry-level ownership, rehab and both market-rate and affordable rental housing as top priorities. “We have 18 of our 41 rural communities growing in the last decade,” Mant said, and the study aims to convert that growth into lasting housing capacity.

The report’s findings matter locally because employers reported housing shortages are already constraining hiring. Roffel said survey respondents — including employers — indicated about 70–77% believe lack of suitable housing is impacting business and that almost half of residents know someone who would move into the region if housing were available.

The presenters described five lead strategies. The SPARC building initiative used state housing-incentive funds to build four small homes in 2024; two are under construction and the program has funding for two more. Roffel said those homes sold quickly to local buyers and are creating “churn” that helps free up existing housing stock. Mant said the SPARC pilot will expand in 2025 with planned work in Park River, Grafton, Minto, Michigan and Hoople.

The council is also pursuing attainable rental projects through low-income housing tax credits in partnership with Grand Forks Homes and the Grand Forks Housing Authority; exploring modular and manufactured homes on permanent foundations with an operating grant from Enterprise Community Partners; and administering just over $1 million in single-family rehab funds targeted to veteran and senior households at 60% area median income or below, Roffel said.

Mant and Roffel highlighted finance tools. Mant described how North Dakota’s PACE-like program can buy down interest rates by up to five points when paired with Bank of North Dakota financing, improving affordability for multifamily projects. Roffel outlined a novel approach to use New Markets Tax Credit equity, via a national nonprofit partner, to create forgivable loans for for-sale housing in census tracts that qualify as opportunity zones.

Commissioners asked about locations and builders. Roffel said the current SPARC houses are in Park River, with planned work in Grafton, Minto, Michigan and Hoople; the primary builder used so far is based in Fordville. Mant and Roffel acknowledged broader constraints including rising material and labor costs: they reported the region’s median household income at about $68,450 and showed that, at a 6.5% mortgage rate, a $1,500 monthly housing payment would buy roughly a $237,000 home — below the current average new-home price nationally.

Mant also described recent policy work: a proposal for a state housing-infrastructure grant program (Senate Bill 2225) did not pass the final legislative session, and the North Dakota Housing Incentive Fund was increased to $25 million this session from a much smaller prior allocation. Mant said the region had advocated for a larger appropriation.

The presentation closed with requests for county support on policy and on building a local housing fund to sustain the region’s efforts. No formal county action was taken at the meeting; the item was a staff presentation and discussion.

Why it matters: the presenters linked housing shortfalls to workforce needs, H-2A agricultural labor concentrations and growth at UND and defense-related employers, arguing that insufficient housing could limit economic growth across the region.

Next steps noted by presenters: continue SPARC builds, pursue tax-credit and modular housing pilots, deploy single-family rehab funds and seek additional state or philanthropic capital to seed a regional housing fund.