Federal funding delays push back timeline for Birchwood Apartments renovations

As new housing options are in the works in Cook County, a major preservation effort for one apartment complex is also underway. Rehabilitation of the Birchwood Apartment complex has been several years in the making, and the plan consists of two main phases that would completely overhaul the two apartment buildings and shared outdoor space between them.

The two-phase renovation of the 24-unit complex began during the summer of 2024. The 2024 phase was described by Dakota Sol, a housing development manager with One Roof Community Housing, as a “stabilization phase.” The Duluth-based nonprofit supports affordable housing efforts in northeast Minnesota. They took ownership of Birchwood after the previous owners allowed it to fall into a state of significant disrepair.

Because Birchwood was initially built using money from the USDA Rural Development program, which allowed One Roof to access $1.2 million to help cover the cost of a complete renovation. Those funds, along with money from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and from a low income tax credit, were awarded last year.

The initial rehabilitation phase focussed on several apartment units that were deemed uninhabitable due to water damage and mold management efforts that had left them gutted to the studs, in addition to replacing copper pipes throughout the complex. Leaks in the copper pipes were determined to be the cause of the water damage, and their replacement in the inhabited apartments included cutting into the walls and ceilings of all of the apartment units.

In January of this year, Sol told WTIP that with phase one complete, they were looking ahead to phase two, which was planned to begin in the spring, once the weather allowed for outside work. The plans for the second phase include renovating the remaining units in the complex, and replacing windows, siding, a playground, a retaining wall, and resurfacing the parking lot.

Despite the plan to begin work in the spring, however, the season came and went without phase two starting. Sol explained that the paperwork for financing work on a USDA building is proving to be complicated. That, coupled with cuts to federal budgets and programs, has caused a delay for the project. He said, “There’s just a lot of complexity, and things can be time consuming working with these bigger government agencies, as well as just with the kind of uncertainty and some changes happening with government agencies right now.”

Sol said that while OneRoof is not concerned that they will lose funding for the project, general delays at the USDA has meant a late start for phase two. “We don’t have any fear of still not being able to complete this, and we’re in a good place,” he said. “It’s just the timeline has slipped back.”

As One Roof waits on their closing paperwork for financing the project to process, they are hoping to be allowed to move ahead with phase two, even if some administrative work is still in progress. Sol said they have requested approval for an early start, which would allow construction to begin before the 90 days that processing closing paperwork typically takes.

If that early start is approved, Sol said that all of the phase two would should be completed by the end of the year. If they are not granted the early start and the work begins later in the season, he said some of the outdoor infrastructure items, like the retaining wall and the paving projects, could be delayed to spring of 2026.

Sol expects to hear about the request to begin work early in the coming days. Whether the site work is able to be completed during 2025 or not, the residents of Birchwood Apartments will still be seeing major work done inside the buildings. Frerichs Construction, a contractor specializing in occupied rehabilitations, will work their way through the remaining units not addressed during phase one. Sol said the contractor works to minimize the immediate impact on residents, but for each unit the occupants can expect work to take place over the course of about two business weeks.

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with One Roof Housing Development Manager Dakota Sol. Audio of that interview is below.

Kirsten Wisniewski July 10, 2025