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Appropriation would seed revolving fund to rehab tax‑forfeited homes in Arrowhead region
Summary
A $2 million one‑time appropriation for the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency would create a revolving rehabilitation fund to acquire, repair and resell tax‑forfeited homes as workforce housing in northeastern Minnesota; the committee adopted an affordability definition amendment and laid the bill over.
A proposal to create a revolving fund for workforce housing rehabilitation in northeastern Minnesota drew testimony from county and local nonprofit officials about tax‑forfeited properties, blight prevention and the potential to convert stranded properties into affordable homes.
Senate File 8‑59, carried by Senator Sarah Farnsworth, would provide a one‑time $2 million appropriation to the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA) to acquire tax‑forfeited homes, rehabilitate them and resell them to eligible buyers. Testimony explained the model: proceeds from sales would replenish the revolving fund so AEOA could continue to rehabilitate additional properties in subsequent years.
Julie Marinucci, director of land and minerals for Saint Louis County, testified that the county manages roughly 900,000 acres of tax‑forfeited land and that many forfeited houses are in severe disrepair; her office and partners identified a set of properties that would be suitable for rehabilitation. “These properties are complicated… and if they continue to go unchecked, they end up in blighted conditions and end up having to be demolished,” Marinucci said.
Scott Zaharik, executive director of AEOA, described existing commitments: a $1 million interest‑bearing construction loan from the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and a $250,000 Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board commitment toward initial value‑gap funding. Zaharik said AEOA and St. Louis County had selected four first properties (one in Chisholm, two in Eveleth, one in Aurora) and expected construction would take about one season per property; contractors and supply purchases would be local and use prevailing wages.
Senator Chris Putnam offered an A‑1 amendment to define “affordable” in the bill as serving households up to 115% of area median income (AMI) as determined by HUD; AEOA indicated it was comfortable with that definition. The amendment was adopted. After discussion, Senate File 8‑59 was laid over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus appropriation bill.
Why it matters: proponents said the program would salvage existing housing stock that otherwise would be demolished, provide homes for local workers, and strengthen the local tax base by returning properties to taxable status. Statute governing tax‑forfeited properties (Minn. Stat. ch. 282) was cited as the legal framework for county management and sale of forfeited parcels.
