City finally gets bids for employee housing
By Jerry W. Kram
The New Town City Council accepted a bid from J.S. Construction, Inc. of Minot to build two duplexes in the Eagle Loop development on Sand Hill that will provide housing for city employees, ending a frustrating four-year saga of failed attempts to develop the area.
The city has been trying to get homes built on the 17 acre development since 2011. For two years, the city entertained offers to trade the land in exchange for eight to 10 units of housing for city employees. Last year, in an attempt to make the area more attractive to developers, the city put in water, sewer, streets and electrical utilities in the development. A deal was reached to do a homes-for-land swap with a developer in 2014, but the financing for that deal fell apart this spring.
With no other options open, the city council decided in April to bite the bullet and build two duplexes on their own and sell the remaining lots to cover the cost of the construction. The council opened three bids on the project at a May 28 special meeting and chose the winning bid on June 1.
