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2006 New Home Construction |
Urban Studio Apartments
Affordable, Green-Built
Downtown Duluth Living.
Available to rent December 2008!
Urban Studio Apartments are for people who are making 50% - 80% of area median income. There will be 9 apartments, including one on-site caretaker unit. They are "workforce housing" units, intended for people working in the downtown area.
Features
Located downtown– close to restaurants, shops and entertainment.
Affordable– perfect for minimum wage earners working downtown
425 square feet with kitchen, bath, and open living area
In-floor heat
Rooftop garden
Laundry
Modern cabinets and polished concrete floors
Green Elements
Cellulose insulation
Triple pane, low-e argon windows
High efficiency gas boiler
Energy star rated appliances and lighting
Sustainable flooring
Low-flow toilets and faucets
The downtown location will allow tenants to walk or bike to work, shopping, restaurants, lake walk, etc. which help to reduce carbon emissions.
New apartments planned in downtown Duluth
Jane Brissett Duluth News Tribune
Published Saturday, February 02, 2008
New downtown studio apartments with modest rent for lower-wage downtown workers are in the planning stages and could be completed as early as this fall. Nine energy-efficient Urban Studio Apartments at 114 N. First Ave. W. are expected to attract people who make 50-80% of area median income ($20,600) or less annually, said Michelle Lebeau, executive director of Women in Construction Co. LLC. The century-old building already houses Women in Construction and Duluth Ruling and Binding and the vacant second story will be renovated to accommodate the apartments, she said. Rents are expected to be about $425 per month, plus electric.
The $600,000 renovation cost will include creation of 425-square-foot studio apartments, each with a kitchen, bathroom and open living space. Plans are with the city to obtain permits, Lebeau said. Building features will include green improvements, laundry facilities and a rooftop garden. And apartments will have modern cabinets and etched concrete floors with in-floor heat. Three people already have signed up on the apartment waiting list, Lebeau said. Women in Construction bought the building about two years ago and planned to put affordable housing on the second floor from the beginning. “Everything [downtown] was so expensive,” she said. The housing is intended for people who work downtown and make minimum wage or slightly more, including wait staff and retail workers, Lebeau said. The company’s nonprofit training program has received $338,000 in construction money from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and Greater Minnesota Housing Fund. Duluth LISC is making an interest-free $50,000 loan for early costs such as architect and legal fees. LISC also is providing $12,500 from Home Depot Foundation for green improvements and energy efficiency. The organization also is seeking a storefront loan from the city at 2 percent interest. A mortgage will finance the rest, Lebeau said. Volunteers from Home Depot and other organizations will provide some of the labor, she added. “This is probably one of the most affordable of the recent developments,” said Pam Kramer, executive director of Duluth LISC. “To me, the exciting thing with downtown is that five or six years ago people didn’t see it as a place where people live,” Kramer said. Now it’s becoming a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week place, she said.
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“To me, the exciting thing with downtown is that five or six years ago, people didn’t see it as a place where people live. Now it’s becoming a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week place.” - Pam Kramer, executive director Duluth LISC
Project Partners
Greater MN Housing Fund: foster the creation of affordable, healthy, energy-efficient homes www.gmhf.com
MN Housing Finance Agency: finances and advances affordable housing opportunities www.mn
housing.gov
Home Depot Foundation: Improving the health of local communities by supporting the development of affordable, healthy homes www.homedepot
foundation.org
Duluth LISC: improve and restore Duluth’s core neighborhoods www.lisc.org/duluth
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