The need was recognized, but how to fill it? There were two critical things: find an appropriate design that would be cost effective and offer affordable housing to a number of families, and find a way to finance it.

A task force of a half dozen local citizens went to look at the design of other facilities in Grand Rapids, Calumet, Taconite and Orr. Orr, for instance, was a town in a similar situation, pointed out Edington. “It was a small community with a need, not very high on the radar screen of funding organizations...difficult to compete for the dollars to do a project like this.”

The task force decided that the building at Oakwood Terrace in Grand Rapids would work well in Bigfork, however. The cost of building it would be about $1.7 million.

Finding the funding would be a challenge. Edington had located a federal program administered by the Internal Revenue Service that allocated low income housing tax credits to states. The tax credits could be purchased by corporations and used to offset part of their income tax liability, with the purchase money used toward building housing.

It sounded perfect, but the catch was that only a certain number of credits would be allocated to Minnesota each year, and the competition to get those credits was fierce.

It took four years of application. Because applications were scored, the project had to meet those objectives that would help it raise its score.

The land, for instance, was purchased and donated to the project by the Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board with contributions from local fund raisers, individual, company and governmental contributions, the Lions Club, and People in Business Care. The final amount was contributed by Bigfork Valley. Not only did donation of the land help lower the project cost, said Edington, but it helped score points in the competitive process.

Then Rajala Company donated the dimension lumber for the construction. That was huge, recalled Edington. Not only did that donation lower costs but it increased the score as both a local contribution and employer contribution. “It was sort of a capstone in our competitive process,” he said.

The project received the tax credits to offer on the equity market. The best bid came from Summit Capital Services, LLC and Summit Corporate Tax Credit Fund VI LP. Those companies would become limited partners in the project with the Itasca County HRA as general partner. The offering raised $1.1 million.

The remaining $600,000 was raised through loans from First State Bank of Bigfork, the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, Itasca County HRA (Northeast Minnesota HOME Consortium with federal Department of Housing and Urban Development funds, and Affordable Housing Program funds through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.) Financial close was August 14.

Some of the collateral was pledged by the City of Bigfork through tax increment financing where part of taxes collected from the project will be returned toward debt repayment. The city also helped by waiving fees and providing connections to city systems, Edington said.

Voronyak Builders of Burtrum, Minn. were the successful bidders and began construction in early August. When finished in late April 2007, the building will have tan steel siding with green shingles and white trim, said Edington. There will be 12 units in two buildings; eight 2-bedroom and four 3-bedroom.

Who will live in the new apartments? Eligible renters will be determined on a scale of gross income and family size. The highest income level for a family of 6 that is eligible will be $38,340. When the HRA begins to take applications, families should apply to see if they are eligible, said Edington. The apartments will be awarded first come-first served, so interested renters should watch for the application date.

Rentals will be set to cover cash outlay to repay debt and maintain the buildings. Rents will cover water, sewer and solid waste disposal, but tenants will be responsible for heat, electric, telephone, internet and cable. Rents are anticipated to be about $460 for a 2-bedroom and $550 for a 3-bedroom apartment and may be adjusted to reflect costs.

Although most of the money was raised in the investment community, WilderNest should not be looked at as a housing authority or investor project, said Edington. Local volunteers have taken a stake in getting the project done, participating in everything from serving at spaghetti feeds to serving on a task force to look at possible designs, he said.