Bigelow Homes requests $4.4M in city support for affordable housing development in Rochester
Apr. 6—ROCHESTER — A $4.38 million investment of Rochester sales tax funds is being requested to support the development of 419 for-sale homes by a local builder.
Through the city's Home Ownership Creation Program, the funds would support Bigelow Homes' planned Westbury development, which is proposed on roughly 60 acres east of 60th Avenue Northwest and south of King Arthur Road.
A report prepared by Taryn Edens, Rochester's assistant director of economic growth, states that the financial support from the program created in 2024 would help provide homes for purchase at reduced costs.
"The development proposes that 100 of the homes to be priced below $426,100, ranging in price between $350,000 and $380,000, and the remaining for-sale homes to be priced below $500,000," she wrote in the report to the Rochester City Council.
The Westbury project calls for the development of a mix of two-, three- and four-bedrooms, standalone single-family homes. Housing styles are expected to include split-levels, two-story homes and homes without a basement.
Council members are slated to review the request during their 6 p.m. meeting Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE.
Edens said the proposed sales prices mean nearly half of the homes will be deemed affordable to households earning up to 115% of the area median income, or roughly $117,000 for a family of four.
The proposed Bigelow Homes agreement is similar to one approved last year with North Rock Real Estate, which was awarded $4 million in city support for its effort to build 201 homes — 151 townhomes and 50 single-family homes — on 74 acres located near the intersection of 50th Avenue Northwest and Valleyhigh Drive. The North Rock agreement calls for 19% of the homes to be priced between $368,000 and $422,000 to meet the 115% AMI threshold.
The Home Ownership Creation Program provides up to $20,000 in upfront subsidies per home when the developer agrees to sell a designated percentage of the homes at prices deemed affordable for households earning 115% AMI or less.
For developments of 200 homes, developers are required to sell at least 15% of the homes in the required price range, and the agreement with the city outlines the period of time they are required to be owner-occupied to avoid conversion into rental housing.
Mike Paradise, president of Bigelow Homes, said the city support will help keep more homes at more-affordable prices in a market where prices in the $500,000 range have been more common due to land and development costs, alongside the expense of building the homes.
In addition to helping reduce costs for development of the homes, the requested city support also aims to meet the need for housing in a timely manner.
The city's proposed agreement with Bigelow Homes states the project is expected to be completed within three years from the start of development, but no later than Nov. 1, 2029.
The Bigelow Homes application for city support estimates the project could be completed earlier than required, and Paradise has noted that the rate of development will likely depend on the company's ability to obtain financing to support the construction of multiple homes at the same time.
Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of April 7 include:
Rochester
—City Council, 6 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at rochestermn.gov/meetings/council-meetings and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188.
—Airport Commission, 2 p.m. Tuesday in the administration conference room of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE.
—Sustainability and Resiliency Commission, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in room 104 of City Hall.
—Planning and Zoning Commission, 5 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the Government Center.
Olmsted County
—Housing and Redevelopment Authority, 4 p.m. Thursday in board chambers of the Government Center.
Rochester Public Schools
—School Board, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW.
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