Housing forum at North House builds framework for action

Mary Tingerthal is the Commissioner for Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, an organization that strives for safe, decent and affordable housing across the state.

During a forum held Monday, Sept. 19 at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Tingerthal and about 50 other individuals talked on exactly that topic.

In addition to Commissioner Tingerthal, other staff from Minnesota housing, representatives from USDA Rural Development, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development participated in Monday’s forum. Also present were a number of local elected officials and staff from both city hall and Cook County.

Essentially the forum at North House was a planning session to discuss affordable housing and future development of Cook County. On that front, Tingerthal says the event was a complete success. 

Among the topics discussed during the forum were locations to build housing projects, a means to encourage housing developments and who will do the work. Tingerthal says there appears to be viable options with regard to both supply and demand for affordable housing projects in Cook County. Another topic that was addressed during Monday’s forum was that of affordable renting opportunities in the region.

Coming out of the forum, Tingerthal says the next steps for local agencies, elected officials and developers will be to secure funding opportunities and put ideas into action. 

Listen to audio of story, including interviews, below.