Alexander Baker Apartments set for fall occupancy
By LAUREL BEAGER
LBeager@cherryroad.com
As local officials waited outside the Alexander Baker Apartments last week, they voiced curiosity and excitement to tour the soon to be available rental housing in International Falls – the first new rental housing built here in more than 30 years.
Once inside the group “oohed” and “aahed,” as they walked the halls and entered long ago classrooms with which many were very familiar.
Many they talked about the time they spent there, with Mike Kostiuk, chief of police, swapping stories of being a student, who may have been scolded a time or two, with Gail Rognerud, who worked as a librarian there from 1976 until it closed it as a school in 1988.
“It was a fun place to be,” Rognerud said.
The school instructed generations of International Falls area students, who now may be considering living in the 27 units of affordable housing, that will feature one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, lounges, a book storage room in the former school library that still contains the original rolling ladder, a fitness center, and in-unit dishwashers.
The units are expected to be ready for occupancy this fall.
“We are at an incredible point in construction,” said Isaac Meyer, KOOTASCA housing development director, as he led the tour with help by Ryan Craft, supervisor of construction with Frerichs Construction, and Lois Lundin, director of Backus Community Center, which shares a wall and basement with the AB building. Construction on the project began in September 2023.
The three-stories of apartments are being finished from the top down, with apartments on the third floor nearly finished, featuring gleaming refinished original floors, portions of original blackboards on the walls, and original built-in cabinets, along with brand-new stainless-steel refrigerators, cupboards and countertops. Most on the tour remarked about the high ceilings.
Affordable?
Some wondered about the word “affordable” used by Meyer in describing the apartments. The project came in just over $18 million, higher than expected, partly because of Inflation from the consequences of the pandemic driving some costs up, he said.
“That means it’s going to be affordable for folks making about $15 to $35 an hour,” he said. “These are the only four-bedroom apartments I know of in a multi-family building in International Falls or maybe the entire county… This is truly a once in a generation build. But beyond that it’s obviously the preservation of one of the most important buildings in the community.”
Meyer reminded the group the building would have been demolished, like other aged school structures in the community, but for the actions of committed people who created Citizens for Backus/AB.
Meyer said the only way the project is possible is with the investment of housing tax credits from the state, and state and federal rehabilitation tax credits.
“In a project like this, we bring in mostly entirely equity, which means we are not paying the debt service,” he explained. “And that means rather than us paying off the mortgage, our tenants are really paying a normal rent cost. If this was market rate, we’d probably see more than $3,000 per month for rent.”
The history
Entry into a three-bedroom apartment on the first floor reveals an arched doorway Moravian tile fireplace, and in another place, Rognerud explained how the stage worked in what will be apartment. “I feel like I spent my whole life in here,” she said.
The cover of the old boiler removed from the building for the project will be framed in the large gathering room and historic photos will line the hallways to remind people of the building’s history. And in the basement, Rognerud noted some teachers took “smoke” breaks there.
Others on the tour also shared stories of working or learning there, including Mike Kostiuk, now city police chief but once a grade school student, who said he may have been scolded by Rognerud a time or two.
Grades kindergarten through sixth grade were schooled in the AB building, with grades 7, 8 and 9 at Backus, and 10-12th grades at a school where TruStar Credit Union sits now, Rognerud noted.
Glass enclosure of the staircases, needed to separate the floors and to keep smoke from main stairwells, will let in huge amounts of light.
Cameras will be included in the apartment, and the building has sprinkler heads to preserve the building as well as for the safety of the tenants. Dry sprinklers have been added as well, he said. All units will have multiple high speed internet connection.
There is no elevator, with apartments for disabled people on the first floor. Windows are double pained with high efficiency glass.
New landscaping on what is now a parking lot will invite residents into the outdoors with grass, trees and play equipment.
The project was set in motion with the Aug. 31 sale of the AB building to the Alexander Baker Partnership, which is comprised primarily of representatives of KOOTASCA Community Action Inc. and Trellis Co. Trellis, formerly Community Housing Development Corporation, provides stability for people and communities as a nonprofit developer and owner of affordable housing, the company’s website said. Trellis Co.’s management team will eventually have an on-site property manager to handle the day-to-day operations of the apartment
For more information, see www.alexanderbakerapts.org where a floor plan and rental costs are available.
