Grand Forks City Council has approved workforce housing for a growing local business.
The temporary use permit (TUP) will allow Boundary Electric to have apartments at 6050 2nd Street in South Ruckle in what is a light industrial zone.
An existing three-bedroom house and school portable will be converted into four apartments.
The company is leasing the property.
CAO Duncan Redfearn told council Monday (July 15) the company plans to aggressively hire.
“It’s for bringing in skilled trades required. They’re doubling their workforce and moving from 80 to 160 employees,” Redfearn said.
A letter from the company CEO, David Evdokimoff, says the doubling of the workforce will happen in “under 36 months (3 years).”
While supporting it, Councillor David Mark isn’t a big fan of housing in industrial areas.
“I don’t like the idea of housing in industrial sections. It sounds to me like you’re not paying your employees enough to buy a house. But I do understand this is a temporary use permit for some growth that’s expected quite quickly and I do see the value in that,” Mark said.
The temporary use permit is good for three years.
This is the second time recently city council has approved temporary workforce housing for a company.
In October, it approved a TUP for Rockwool to build apartments in an existing building on Industrial Park Way.
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