— OFFICE OF GOV. DALRYMPLE — Gov. Jack Dalrymple today joined McKenzie County Healthcare Systems, Inc. and the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA) in breaking ground on a new development in Watford City that will provide affordable housing for essential medical personnel.
“This housing project is just the latest example of our commitment to the expanded development of affordable housing for fixed-income residents and employees who provide essential services in our rapidly growing communities,” said Dalrymple. “The state’s Housing Incentive Fund and support from the Bank of North Dakota have proven to be valuable tools in addressing the affordable housing needs of our growing state.”
McKenzie County Healthcare Systems received a $1.83 million Housing Incentive Fund (HIF) commitment from NDHFA and is applying for an $830,000 interest rate buy-down through the Bank of North Dakota’s (BND) FlexPACE program to support the construction of the $6.1 million housing development. The North Dakota Industrial Commission, with Dalrymple as chairman, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, oversees NDHFA and BND.
According to McKenzie County Healthcare Systems CEO Daniel Kelly, the housing project will help attract and retain healthcare professionals.
“Having affordable housing and affordable daycare are our greatest obstacles to recruiting the staff essential to the healthcare systems’ operations,” said Kelly. “The assistance afforded by the Industrial Commission and the state legislature through the Housing Incentive Fund is helping us address these obstacles.”
Eighteen of the apartments will be reserved specifically for essential service workers – individuals employed by the medical facility in lower-wage positions including nurses’ aides and lab technicians. Depending on income and household size, these units will rent for $605 to $1,000 per month.
“NDHFA’s mission is to ensure that everyone in our state has access to affordable housing,” said Jolene Kline, NDHFA executive director. “We continue to work with the Industrial Commission members to address the needs of North Dakota’s growing communities.”
Since HIF’s inception in 2011, NDHFA has allocated $49 million to affordable housing projects statewide, leveraging $240 million in construction financing to support the development of more than 1,500 new rental units.
McKenzie County Healthcare Systems’ development will be located at 318 10th Avenue Northeast in Watford City. Anticipated completion is September 2015.
Reprinted from: http://governor.nd.gov/media-center/news/mckenzie-county-healthcare-systems-employee-housing-construction-begins
