By Sara Quam
An area housing study dominated discussion at the Luverne Economic Development Authority meeting Tuesday.
Jason Haehn of Admark Resources, St. Cloud, presented the study's findings. He concluded that the city of Luverne could support an additional 30 units of houses to sell and another 80 to 84 units to rent over the next three to five years.
He summarized the rental portion of the study by saying Luverne needs to meet more needs for renters even though the vacancy rate on apartments is now 11 percent. The industry standard is 5 percent, and the vacancy rate in 2000 was 7 percent overall.
"There are units there, but they're not being used for some reason," Haehn said.
Luverne City Administrator said, "I don't think that number gives an accurate picture."
Hylen said that although 11 percent of the apartments are vacant, the vacancies are concentrated in the City Centre Apartments and Blue Mound Tower. Take those off the chart, he said, and the vacancy rate is closer to 2 percent.
Haehn said that the small square footage of Blue Mound Tower units might not appeal to families with children or even a couple in some cases. He suggested that other options like making two units into one or using the apartments for assisted or congregate living might help fill the space.
The City Centre Apartments' vacancy problems are different. They charge among the highest rental rates in the area. The units may also suffer because of a lack of marketing or because the building used to be a school and many renters will remember it as such.
Haehn further clarified the vacancy rate of 11 percent by saying that some apartments don't advertise and that some of those surveyed expected vacancies to fill shortly based on recent applications.
As far as home purchasing, the selling price of homes in Luverne has steadily increased from a median $28,500 in 1989-90 to $65,000 in 1999-00. The city currently has more than 80 open lots available.
This study will be used to develop a Community Development Plan that will detail actions to implement housing improvements, taking into consideration the population's age and income.
In other business the LEDA:
Looked at a draft of Moorhead's border city legislation. The LEDA is coming up with a draft of guidelines for businesses wanting to apply for border city incentives. The city can determine an ideal number of employees or a minimum dollar amount in order for businesses to complete the application process. It will recommend these policies to the council.
Discussed the possibility of advertising requests for proposals for the sale of the LEDA apartment units. The LEDA bought and developed the apartments with the intention of selling to a private party as long as it didn't come out at a loss. Tax laws are more favorable now than they were at the time the apartments were constructed in the early 1990s, so now might be the best time to sell, the LEDA decided.
The Mounds View and Evergreen Apartments on the north side of town are full and even have a waiting list.
Agreed to offer the Christensen house on Blue Mound Avenue for rent for the winter on a short-term lease until the LEDA decides whether to sell it in bid form. The house was part of an agreement when the city purchased land for the Evergreen addition. The LEDA obtained the house when the residents were ready to move out of it.