‘Woodland Corners’ Housing Project in Hackensack Awaiting Word on Funding

Woodland Corners is a proposed housing project in Hackensack that could lead to a 30-unit apartment complex being built. Project organizers are looking to secure a two-for-one matching grant from Minnesota Housing Financy Agency for small cities to construct workforce housing.

The Resilient Housing Team, a part of the Hackensack Game Changers, has been looking into a project to help alleviate the housing problem in Hackensack for three years. After being advised to conduct a housing study, the group received a grant to conduct one.

“That housing study, it gave us the basis to start applying for grants because each one of those grants you need to prove the need,” said Kris Biessener, Hackensack Game Changers Treasurer and a real estate agent with Edina Realty. “And so with that study in hand showing an acute need, then we were able to start working towards getting the grant going.”

Hackensack has a shortage of housing for families. The city’s population of around 300 is small, but there are only around 100 households. There are other factors that contribute to the issue, such as a lack of land for people to build their own houses.

“Even if people were willing to build a house, there’s really not lots for people to buy to build a house,” stated Biessener. “You know, we’re also 127 lakes within a 10-mile radius, and so a lot of our locals are used to wanting to be on the lake, right? But the prices on the lake have gone up so far that certainly the working families can’t afford to live on the lakes.”

The 30 units wouldn’t solve all of Hackensack housing problems, but it would provide some much needed relief, especially for the workforce at some major employers within the area.

“I think the number that the study came up with was, 60% of the people that work in the primary market area live at least 40 miles away. They’re traveling 40 miles or more to get to work every day,” Biessener explained. “And so there’s more than 30 people that are doing that. And so we also have a lot of senior citizens that are interested in the building. We have people that are already working in town that, you know, living in mom and dad’s basement, living in an uncle’s garage. We have people that live in campers over the summer, you know, to work in town. So it’s only going to be a drop in the bucket, but we’re going to start somewhere.”

The Woodland Corners project is not the only project looking for grant dollars. There’s only enough money available for one-third of the grant applicants, but the hope for Hackensack is that Woodland Corners is one of the projects the government chooses to fund.

“You know, maybe they’ll take mercy on our scrappy little town because, you know, we have had a lot of publicity, a lot of people,” Biessener added. “We’ve we’ve been put on the map by a lot of different things. And so people really do know where Hackensack is.”

The next step for the project is to wait. The project group expects to find out by the end of September if they will receive funds.