The Heights 36-unit apartment building anticipated to open in November
In less than six months, tenants will begin moving into a new 36-unit apartment building in Grand Marais.
The Heights apartment project, located immediately east of Up Yonder along Hwy 61, has been in development for over three years and is a collaborative investment initiative led by the Cook County Real Estate Fund (CCREF).
The CCREF is comprised of 49 investors, the majority of whom are residents of Cook County. The Heights is the second project the financial organization has tackled in Grand Marais; the first was the purchase and renovation of the Birchbark Gifts Building.
While the property underwent preliminary site work over the past month, CCREF, along with numerous stakeholders, financial investors, city and county officials, and community members, celebrated on June 3 with an official groundbreaking ceremony.
Groundbreaking Ceremony
Groundbreaking Ceremony
“We were so happy to be able to enjoy the moment with so many people that were involved, all the stakeholders, investors, and city and county people that worked so hard on this thing to make it happen,” said Gary Latz, the project manager for The Heights. Latz is also a CCREF investor.
The 36-unit Heights apartments will be a mix of studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units.
The Heights Rendering
Latz said of the 36 units, 18 will be market rate, and 18 will have income restrictions based on Area Median Income (AMI). Minnesota Housing determines the AMI by county, which is used to base reduced rent guidelines.
The 18 units designated for income restrictions will fall within the range of 60% to 80% AMI.
In Cook County, the maximum gross income for a single individual applying for a unit at 80% AMI is $54,320. Latz said that for a single individual applying for a unit at 60% AMI, the maximum gross income is approximately $40,000.
The 18 market-rate units will have a similar range to the Gunflint Vue apartments, which tenants began moving into in May. The Gunflint Vue has 23 of the 51 units still available as of early June.
Latz said that later this summer, once The Heights project starts to take form and the potential for construction delays is almost nonexistent, a website will be available for prospective tenants to learn more about the units and apply.
“We will start marketing most likely in July,” Latz said.
With everything looking good on paper and moving along smoothly so far, Latz said, “It’s safe to say that in November or December,” tenants will be able to move in.
The fast timeline, from the June groundbreaking to a November move-in date, is primarily due to the unique nature of the construction. Rather than a traditional stick-built apartment complex, The Heights is comprised of 36 modular components that are currently being built in a factory and, in August, will be transported by semi one at a time up Hwy 61 and then assembled.
“We bring those to the site and have a crane there,” Latz said. “It picks up the module from the truck and puts it in place. Just like a LEGO set.”
The Heights has been a complex and collaborative project that has over a dozen different funding sources, including the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, Iron Range Resources Rehabilitation, Cook County Revolving Loan Fund, Northland Foundation, Arrowhead Regional Development Commission, and many more.
“Almost everybody we deal with has the same vision, and they recognize that there’s this opportunity in Cook County. They recognize that there’s actually something that can be done about it,” Latz said.
Latz said the CCREF is in the midst of exploring a Phase Two of the project, which will include more housing, but the details have yet to be finalized.
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins sat down with Gary Latz following the June 3 groundbreaking ceremony to talk about the dynamics of the apartment project, lessons learned, details about Phase Two, the need for housing in Cook County, and much more. The audio from the interview is below.
Community Site Plan for Phase One and Phase Two
Kalli Hawkins June 5, 2025
