Grafton to get first new housing in 30 years, and residents will help name the development
Sep. 28—GRAFTON, N.D. — For the first time in 30 years, Grafton is getting new housing. The community has the chance to name it.
Being able to build rural housing is something that requires a community's full commitment, said Marc Kuhn, owner of MAK Construction in Grand Forks, which is building the new housing. Grafton has been very receptive through the process, he said, so he's giving the honor of naming the housing to the residents.
"It means more to the town to have the naming rights than it does to us," he said.
MAK Construction will build two 36-unit market-rate apartment buildings on Grafton's west side, north of First United Bank. They will feature two- or three-bedroom spaces, some efficiency apartments, and garages.
It has taken collaboration between MAK, the City of Grafton, the Bank of North Dakota, Marvin Windows and other corporate members to make the idea a reality, Kuhn said.
The city donated the land to MAK and contributed a $250,000 grant, along with other private equity contributions from the community. MAK Construction also worked with the Bank of North Dakota to utilize the Rural-Workforce Initiative to Support Housing, a program that helps rural communities of 20,000 or fewer residents with the construction of market-rate housing. Matt Marshall and Melissa Beach, economic development administrators at Minnkota, also provided assistance.
Getting the project "over the edge" and to the point of groundbreaking took everybody's help, Kuhn said. Grafton isn't the only rural town that needs help with housing, though. Mike Nustad, general manager at MAK Construction, said it exists across communities.
"Housing is a significant need for a lot of these communities, and it's tough to do in these rural areas, so it's a pretty big win for this project," he said.
The need is especially present for employers, Kuhn added, like farmers hiring H-2A workers, as well as American Crystal Sugar and Marvin Windows. However, the process has included a lot of hard work over the past six months, he said, and the company wasn't sure if construction was going to happen until July. Some developers aren't willing to take on projects in rural areas, he said, and instead focus on cities like Fargo, Grand Forks or Bismarck.
"It was a lot of work. A lot of developers probably aren't willing to go up and attack rural housing," he said. "As a 36-year-old developer, I guess I had enough energy in me to get this one over the finish line, so we're excited about that. It's been a milestone for our company, as well."
Kuhn said the project took everybody who chipped in to make it happen, especially for employers like farmers, American Crystal Sugar, Marvin Windows, hospitals, schools and others.
Groundbreaking is still a few weeks away, as there are about 5 acres of corn at the site of the future apartments that need to come down first. A date for the groundbreaking has not been set. In the meantime, the Grafton community is focusing on finding a name for the new apartments.
As of Monday, Grafton Community Development Director Jenny Dusek said she had already received more than 100 name submissions, and was still hoping to get Grafton High School students involved in the contest. Residents of any age were welcome to submit an idea. The winner will receive $50 in Grafton Bucks and a Grafton mug from Byrdie's Gift Shop. Submissions closed on Sept. 27, and the winner will be announced at the Oct. 14 Grafton City Council meeting.
"It's just something fun to rally the community around, get them excited about the project," she said.
