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2 <br />The City of Elk River strives to <br />proactively facilitate redevelopment, <br />housing diversity, and reinvestment in our <br />community. The Housing and <br />Redevelopment Authority (HRA) had an <br />exciting year filled with redevelopment <br />projects that will improve our overall <br />community. <br /> <br />Home construction has slowed as our <br />inventory of platted lots are built out. <br />With high prices and low inventory, a <br />strong labor market and rising incomes <br />we expect the demand to drive the <br />opening of new developments in 2020. <br /> <br />In 2019, Elk River saw 117 new single family housing starts, which was <br />down 23% over the previous year. Additionally, the City Council approved <br />only two single-family plats totaling 50-lots in 2019 in comparison to six <br />single-family plats totaling 192 lots in 2018. We saw a slight decrease in <br />interest rates in 2019, which could help the market turn around in 2020. <br /> <br />The HRA continues to promote the reinvestment into our older housing <br />stock to preserve housing diversity for all life cycles through our Housing <br />Rehabilitation Loan Program, which was administered by the Center for <br />Energy and Environment (CEE). <br /> <br />The HRA collaborated with CEE to offer many new energy-related <br />programs in 2019. These statewide programs such as the Home Energy <br />Loan Program, additional Home Improvement Loans, solar financing and <br />even unsecured loan programs offer additional options for homeowners in <br />Elk River and an opportunity to leverage our dollars. <br /> <br />In 2020, I am looking forward to a year of progress in the promotion of the <br />new and improved HRA rehabilitation loan program and other <br />redevelopment projects in conjunction with the Mississippi Connections Plan in <br />Elk River through goal setting and plan implementation. <br />aothoudt@ElkRiverMN.gov <br />763.635.1042 <br />ElkRiver.MN.gov <br />Amanda Othoudt <br />Economic Development Director <br />DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE