HRA, developers, and officials celebrate groundbreaking ceremony of Gunflint Vue apartments in Grand Marais

Kalli Hawkins | June 17, 2024

After two years in the making, the Cook County Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA) has officially broken ground on its first housing project, a 51-unit mixed-income apartment complex in Grand Marais.

“It’s a bit of a sigh of relief that it’s actually happening,” Executive Director of the HRA Jason Hale said during the June 14 groundbreaking ceremony. “I am very happy for the community that this is actually happening.”

On Friday, June 14, city and county officials and community members joined Hale and developer Ryan Nelson at the Gunflint Vue apartment project site for a ceremonial gathering. Hale and Nelson gave a short speech to commemorate the project’s manifestation and highlight the collaborative effort to bring the project to fruition.

“This project has been challenging,” Hale said.

Rising material and labor costs and changes in interest rates have presented numerous challenges to the HRA and developers throughout the project’s implementation. The high interest rates and increased construction costs ultimately led to a $750,000 budget shortfall. “We have been fortunate to have partners that have come in and filled that gap,” Hale said. The partners include the Economic Development Authority, Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), and Cook County through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

“Gunflint Vue is a textbook example of how local government and prime development and a community environment can work together to actually solve problems,” Hale said in his ceremonial speech. In addition to the collaborative funding project, the city of Grand Marais was involved in the project in the initial phase. The city sold the property to the HRA for $1.

“There’s been a lot of need for housing in this community, and we got the right folks together that were able to make this work,” Nelson said during the ceremonial event.

Hale said, “Gunflint Vue represents a 10 million dollar investment in Grand Marais and is the biggest rental housing project in the history of Cook County.”

WTIP attended the Friday, June 14, Gunflint Vue groundbreaking ceremony. Below is audio from the ceremony speeches, as well as individual follow-up interviews with HRA Executive Director Jason Hale and Developer Ryan Nelson.

Gunflint Vue groundbreaking ceremony photos and video by M Baxley: