| HRA makes second effort to purchase home |
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| Thursday, 11 June 2009 | |
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Managing editor The Coon Rapids Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) has taken another stab at purchasing a second property for the city’s new Home for Generations project. Back in February, the HRA, which comprises the seven members of the Coon Rapids City Council, approved a purchase agreement for a 960-square-foot rambler at 11219 Bittersweet St. N.W. The home was vacant but not yet in foreclosure. However, because the owner of the property at that time could not provide clear title due to a tax lien, the sale did not close and the purchase agreement expired, according to Matt Brown, city community development specialist. The property has since gone into foreclosure and the HRA has submitted a letter of intent – to purchase the home for $72,000 – to the bank that now owns the home through foreclosure. However, Brown said that another offer had already been received by the bank from a private party which the bank will likely accept, Brown said. “The house has been sold contingent on an inspection,” he said. “The odds are very slim that we would be able to purchase the house.” However, some structural repairs will be needed on the property because water currently leaks into the basement, Brown said. Back in February, when it looked like the short sale offer that the HRA had made for the property was going to go through, an open house took place at the Bittersweet residence in tandem with an open house at 11610 Juniper St. N.W., another 1950s rambler that the HRA had purchased. The purpose of the Home for Generations project is to acquire vacant and/or foreclosed 1950s ramblers, rehabilitate them and sell them after they have been updated to meet the needs of modern families. That’s exactly what has happened to the remodeled 800-square-foot Juniper Street N.W. rambler built in 1955, which the HRA, through a realtor that it has hired for the project, Michael Hunstad of Counselor Realty, is showcasing through a series of open houses. The first weekend of open houses, May 30 and 31, drew an estimated 1,200 people, according to Mayor Tim Howe. Future open house dates are Sunday, June 14, noon to 2 p.m.; Wednesday, June 17, 4 to 6 p.m.; Sunday, June 21, noon to 2 p.m.; Wednesday, June 24, 4 to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, June 28, noon to 2 p.m. The goal of Home for Generations is not just to sell the remodeled home but also show residents what can be done to upgrade older homes in the community. Indeed, the HRA is hoping that the $60,000 remodeling project by Lennox builders at the Juniper Street residence has turned the rambler into a modern home that people will be anxious to buy. According to Howe, the genesis for the Home for Generations project came from a council goal-setting workshop a couple of years ago when staff was asked to come up with a project that could show what could be done to renovate older homes in Coon Rapids to make them attractive to the modern homebuyer. Howe was disappointed that the Bittersweet Street home purchase was unlikely to go forward. “I don’t want to lose the momentum from the Juniper Street home,” Howe said. Brown assured the HRA that staff was continuing to look for homes to purchase that would fit the Home for Generations project. But Phil Rosar, Coon Rapids resident who works in real estate and buys foreclosed properties, did not think the city should be in the business or buying and selling homes. That may be true when there is a private buyer as appears to be the case with the Bittersweet Street property, said Councilmember Scott Schulte. Schulte hopes that the new owner will be willing and able to spend the money needed for improvements to that property, he said. According to Schulte, no private property owner could garner the type of positive publicity the city has received for the Juniper Street project. That has included a piece of WCCO TV News June 2 by reporter Bill Hudson, in which he was given a tour of the remodeled residence by Kristin DeGrande, city neighborhood coordinator. “The finished product is a great looking house,” Howe said at the open house that unveiled the finished product last month. For the open houses, the Juniper Street rambler has been mostly furnished by HOM Furniture, DeGrande said. Through the remodeling, the size of the rambler, located north of Northdale Boulevard and west of Foley Boulevard, has been increased from 808 square feet to just over 1,000 square feet with the construction of an addition, with foundation, to the back of the house to include a new kitchen and mud room. The main floor interior has been gutted by moving walls to create more space and added storage area, new wood flooring has been installed, all the windows and siding have been replaced and a front porch has been built. The two existing bathrooms, one on the main floor and the other in the basement, have also been remodeled. There has also been some landscaping done on the property, including hydro seeding in the front, side and backyards. While the HRA is not seeking to make a profit on the sale, the hope is that it can recover the purchase price and remodeling costs, according to DeGrande. The proceeds from the sale of the Juniper Street home will go back into the HRA account to be used to buy more foreclosed and vacant homes and remodel them for sale, DeGrande said. Existing dollars in the HRA budget are used to purchase and remodel the properties. Homes that are more than 50 years old are considered historic in architectural circles, said Ned Storla, city assessor. There were 2,216 ramblers built in Coon Rapids between 1950 and 1959 and another 2,124 constructed between 1960 and 1969, according to Storla. Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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