Return to Home Page Range Readiness Housing Work Team
c/o ARDC
221 West First Street
Duluth, MN 55802
Contact: Andy Hubley
218-529-7512
ahubley@ardc.org
Central Sub-Region
The Central Sub-Region includes Marble, Calumet, Nashwauk, Keewatin, Hibbing, Chisholm, Buhl, and Kinney. These communities are in eastern Itasca County and western St. Louis County. The following is a description of the Housing Work Team’s goals for the Central Sub-Region.

New Owner Occupied Workforce Homes (click here to define)
The Iron Range Housing Assessment shows that, in order to meet the demand caused by the major projects, between 304 and 393 new homes will be needed in the Central Sub-Region in the next five years. Some of those homes will be developed on the open market, but it is likely that much of that housing demand will need assistance in some form. This is particularly true for new housing that is affordable to the average worker at one of the industries or an affiliated business.

The Range Readiness Housing Work Team has a goal of creating at least 152 new owner occupied workforce homes in the cities of the Central Sub-Region. To learn about resources that can assist you to develop new owner occupied homes in your community, clickHERE.

New Workforce Rental Units (click here to define)
The Iron Range Housing Assessment shows that, in order to meet the demand caused by the major projects, between 189 and 244 new rental units for workforce housing will be needed in the Central Sub-Region in the next five years. Very little of this type of housing is ever developed on the open market, so it is very likely that much of this demand will need assistance in some form. This is particularly true for rental units that are affordable to the average worker at one of the industries or an affiliated business.

The Range Readiness Housing Work Team has a goal of creating at least 60 new rental workforce housing units in the Central Sub-Region. To learn about resources that can assist you to develop rental housing units in your community, click HERE.

Owner Occupied Home Rehab (click here to define)
According to the Iron Range Housing Assessment and other recent studies, many houses in this area need some level of rehabilitation (rehab). It is thought that through rehab some of the homes that are fixed up will become marketable to sell and will be desirable for workforce housing. A more important element of rehabbed homes will be that the community as a whole will look more inviting. A well-maintained and attractive community will help convince a housing developer that new homes will be marketable. Rehab also ensures that a home will be usable well into the future, which keeps that housing unit in the community. The need for rehab on the Iron Range is significant. In the Central Sub-Region it is estimated that 6,446 homes could use some type of rehabilitation.

The Range Readiness Housing Work Team has a goal of rehabbing at least 442 owner occupied workforce housing units in the Central Sub-Region. To learn about resources that can assist you to rehab owner occupied homes in your community, click HERE.

Rental Rehab (click here to define)
There are housing units for rent on the Iron Range, but many of them are not in a good enough condition to be desirable. Rehabbing these rental properties will quickly create new housing opportunities on the Iron Range. It is estimated that 724 rental housing units in the Central Sub-Region need some type of rehab.

The Range Readiness Housing Work Team has a goal of rehabbing at least 64 rental workforce housing units in the Central Sub-Region. Many rental rehabilitation projects will need some form of assistance to get them started. Click HERE to learn about resources available for rental rehab.

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Range Readiness Initiative

Housing Expeditor
The Iron Range Housing Expeditor is a team of individuals that have extensive experience in community housing development. Led by Steve Griesert of Community Research Partners, Inc., the Expeditor provides Iron Range communities with advice and assistance when the community is seeking to develop housing. The Expeditor's time is already funded by a coalition of agencies, so his assistance does not cost the community.

If you or your community is interested in helping meet workforce housing needsthrough development and would like some assistance, contact:
Steve Griesert:
#507-333-2445 or
by email him


Housing Work Team
A diverse group of individuals and agencies is dedicated to meeting the housing needs of the Iron Range during this time of intense economic expansion. The Team is serving as a committee of the Range Readiness Initiative.


Housing Work Team Members By Entity
Itasca County Housing & Redevelopment Authority

St. Louis County and Housing & Redevelopment Authority

Minnesota Housing Finance Agency

Greater Minnesota Housing Fund

Minnesota Housing Partnership

KOOTASCA Community Action

Arrowhead Economic Opportunities Agency

Range Association of Realtors

Itasca Housing Coalition

Northern Minnesota Builders Association

Arrowhead Regional Development Commission





Housing Sub-Regions
What community are you interested in?

All of the communities on the Iron Range have been categorized into sub-regions. Please click on one of the links below to learn more about housing in your area. You can see a map of the sub-regions by clicking here.

Western Sub-Region
Deer River Cohasset Grand Rapids La Prairie Warba Coleraine Bovey Taconite

Central Sub-Region

Marble Calumet Nashwauk Keewatin Hibbing Chisholm Buhl Kinney

Quad Cities Sub-Region
Mountain Iron Leonidas Eveleth Iron Junction Virginia Gilbert

East Range Sub-Region
McKinley Biwabik Aurora Hoyt Lakes

Northeast Sub-Region
Tower Babbitt Ely Winton