05.31.16

Hoeven: New Affordable Housing Projects in Minot, Burlington Embody Minot's Post-Flood Resilience

Senator Worked to Secure More than $117 Million in CDBG Funds for Projects like Burlington Willows and Cook’s Court Apartments

MINOT, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today joined Minot and Ward County community leaders at a dedication ceremony for two new affordable housing projects, the Burlington Willows Townhomes in the city of Burlington and the Cook’s Court Apartments for seniors in the city of Minot. Both projects were built by Beyond Shelter, a Fargo-based developer of affordable Housing, with the help of more than $8 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).

Hoeven, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped to secure the funding from Congress following the 2011 flood. The senator worked to bring more than $117 million in CDBG funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for flood recovery and housing projects like the ones dedicated today.

“The people of Minot and Ward County are continuing to rebuild, as we can see here today with these two beautiful new housing projects,” Hoeven said. “That’s possible because of the can-do spirit, resilience and smart planning demonstrated by the people of the entire region following the flood of 2011.”

• Burlington Willows Townhomes: Developers used $6.3 million of CDBG/Disaster Recovery funding awarded to the city of Minot, including $3.55 million for site acquisition and street improvements. The entire project cost is $8.26 million, excluding the CDBG/Disaster Recovery funding. The townhome-style housing development provides affordable workforce housing for the city of Burlington and other residents of Ward County.

• Cook’s Court Apartments: Developers used $1.8 million in CDBG/Disaster Recovery funding provided to Ward County for the $7 million project, a two-story apartment-style development for households age 55 and older.

The leaders also celebrated the resilience and can-do spirit of the people of the region on the fifth anniversary of the 2011 flood, highlighting their plans to use $74.3 million National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) funding they recently won from HUD. The funding will help both the city of Minot and Ward County prepare for future weather disasters and improve the quality of life for the residents.

Hoeven met with Minot city and Ward County officials to brief them about the NDRC and last year wrote a letter of support for the city’s application to the national competition. The NDRC was created as part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program, and Hoeven worked to ensure Minot would be eligible for the program.

-###-