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Regional housing group asks Grand Forks County for $75,000 to scale rural homebuilding
Summary
Red River Regional Council and Red River Chodo told the county commission they are leveraging small county investments into multi‑million-dollar housing projects across rural communities. Presenters asked for about $75,000 to support staffing and project development for SparkBuild and other initiatives to create new homes and rehab units.
Don Mant, executive with the Red River Regional Council, told the Grand Forks County Commission that housing shortages are the top barrier to employers across the region and outlined multiple efforts to jump‑start new home production in small towns.
Mant and other presenters — including Lisa Rathfold, the newly hired executive director of the Red River Community Housing Development Organization (Red River Chodo), and Barry Wilford of the Grand Forks/East Grand Forks Chamber — described the SparkBuild program, a regional housing-restart initiative that pairs public seed funding with for‑profit and nonprofit partners to build market-rate and affordable single‑family homes in small towns.
Mant said the council projects a $1.4 million operating budget for 2027 and that the county’s roughly $75,000 contribution would support about a half‑time position to sustain rapid project development, match outside funds and leverage millions in construction investment. He told commissioners the region has identified roughly 1,500 additional workers needed by employers and that housing availability is a leading constraint.
Lisa Rathfold described completed and in‑progress builds (22 homes in the region to date) and the group’s strategy to tap federal resources that typically require scale. Marni Schisler, associate state director, clarified SBDC funding structures and the role of state match dollars and local partners in sustaining the program.
Commissioners asked about staffing, contractor availability, operating costs and how success is measured; presenters noted their developer-fee revenue model and a recent $1.2 million Federal Home Loan Bank award for rehab projects aimed at veterans, disabled and elderly households. Mant also outlined a long‑standing proposal for an Emerado mobile-home-park redevelopment (a $20M–$25M concept) and said the council continues to pursue HUD and EPA funding opportunities.
What happens next: presenters asked the board to consider a 2027 appropriation (≈$75,000) to support staff and local match; commissioners did not take an immediate formal vote on funding during the presentation but discussed budget timing and urged staff to include requests in upcoming budget materials.
