United Community Action Partnership helps provide a long list of needed services in southwest Minnesota, including services related to housing.
But, Jeff Gladis said, this was something different for the organization: actually building new houses.
On Wednesday, Gladis, the housing director at UCAP, came together with other representatives from UCAP, the city of Marshall, Turkey Valley Farms, and Ace Home and Hardware in Marshall, to break ground for the first of five new single-family homes planned in Marshall’s Parkway II addition. The development project will help address needs for affordable family housing in Marshall, Gladis said.
“Hopefully, this will be the start of something bigger,” said area Economic Development Authority Director Cal Brink, speaking before the groundbreaking ceremony.
The building project has been more than a year in the making, Gladis said, and took a total investment of more than $1.1 million. Last year, UCAP applied for — and received — funding from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency to help build the homes. However, that could never have happened without support, from partners like the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and an area business. Gladis and Marshall City Council member John DeCramer said one important part of the application’s success was the sponsorship of Turkey Valley Farms.
