The Rural Workforce Initiative to Support Rural Housing (R-WISH) is a pilot program run by the state-run Bank of North Dakota that helps communities with 20,000 or fewer residents create market-rate housing for workers when a business locates or expands there. The program will use bank capital to help communities provide housing for these workers, Prairie Public reported.

“We have the example of Grafton, where Marvin Windows is looking to expand significantly,” Kelvin Hullet, the bank's chief development officer, told the industry commission that oversees the bank. “And look at Ellendale, where the Applied Digital (data center) development is currently underway, which represents an investment of over a billion dollars and 50 permanent jobs.”

According to Hullet, accommodation in these cities is a problem.

“The construction costs in those communities are very similar to those in Bismarck or Fargo,” he said. “But we don't have the rental capacity or history that we see in those communities. So how do we fill that gap?”

The Industrial Commission has approved up to $10 million for the pilot program. Cities with fewer than 20,000 residents can receive up to $3.5 million for their housing needs under the program.

“This is really a shot at the housing problem,” Hullet said. “We're really trying to address a concrete problem.”

The Industrial Commission consists of Governor Doug Burgum, Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.

“Addressing the workforce housing problem will require unique and creative approaches from multiple sectors,” a joint statement said. “R-WISH will enable rural communities experiencing a period of rapid growth to work with business and the state to meet workforce housing needs.”

To qualify, a community must be experiencing a period of rapid growth due to the addition of a new business or the expansion of a local business by more than 10 full-time equivalents. Funds can be used for new multifamily and one- to four-family housing projects or rehabilitation of existing multifamily and one- to four-family housing projects if it is more cost-effective than new construction. Financing must involve a local financial institution.

“The R-WISH program is a good example of a public-private partnership for the optimal use of government funds,” said BND President Todd Steinwand.