Workforce housing project has new name – and public hearings

Pinecrest Apartments – the proposed, 58-unit apartment complex in Park Rapids – will soon get public hearings.

To boost the local economy and address a shortage of affordable housing, the Heartland Lakes Development Commission (HLDC) proposed constructing two apartment buildings at 317 Career Path.

According to a resolution passed at a Tuesday, May 16 meeting, the Hubbard County Board is “considering granting a property tax abatement of all or a portion of the county’s share of property taxes generated by improvements on the property in a maximum amount of $418,407 in order to facilitate the project.”

The public hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 20 on the third floor of the Hubbard County Government Center.

“The city, the county and the school district have all agreed in theory to an abatement program for the gap financing for this apartment project,” said Hubbard County Administrator Jeff Cadwell.

He noted that all three government entities have lined up public hearings about the tax abatement in June.

“Again, the abatement is to capture the new tax capacity on the new construction, so we’re not going back and grabbing any tax capacity on the existing parcel. We’re just grabbing the value of the new construction and collecting that over 15 years to finance the gap on this project,” Cadwell said.

In April, HLDC asked the county to release $43,000 in pre-construction costs for architectural services and $14,700 for civil engineering services. The county board unanimously approved the two expenditures.