Housing Development Expeditor

REGIONAL WORKFORCE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECT EXPEDITOR Highway 169 Corridor - Itasca and St. Louis Counties, MN THIS IS A FULL TIME POSITION THAT MAY BE CONTRACTED OR HIRED. The Regional Workforce Housing Development Project Expeditor will work with city and county government, residential developers and companies investing in large-scale industrial expansion in the region including Minnesota Power, Minnesota Steel, Excelsior Energy, PolyMet, Franconia Minerals, UPM, Mesabi Nugget, Laurentian Energy, and others. The position will facilitate the creation of workforce housing in strategic locations along the Highway 169 Corridor in St. Louis and Itasca Counties to meet the combined housing needs of temporary construction workers and the region’s permanent workforce. The emphasis will be on both affordable and market rate workforce housing needs. The project expeditor will work closely with employers, developers and local units of government to:  Plan and expedite temporary and permanent workforce housing projects;  Engage developers in undertaking projects including for-profit, not-forprofit and public sector entities;  Identify appropriate sites for housing and residential growth;  Determine appropriate infrastructure improvements necessary for temporary and permanent workforce housing;  Build political will within local government and public to accommodate and invest in housing development;  Champion regional housing and community planning to foster strategic growth and investment;  Negotiate local public and private funding commitments both locally and from outside the area;  Plan long-term use of temporary housing sites, homes and infrastructure;  Ensure environmental protections from new residential development; and  Safeguard against the loss of existing permanent workforce housing along the 169 corridor. The successful candidate will have an intimate knowledge of, and ability to work across the region in different political, economic and government arenas. This position requires a highly-motivated, politically astute and selfdirected individual with proven expertise in public policy, housing development and finance, and economic and business development.

The regional workforce housing development project expeditor will office in northeast Minnesota and report to a joint Itasca and St. Louis County HRA and economic development executive team. QUALIFICATIONS INCLUDE: o Ability to foster partnerships among numerous stakeholders, including developers, government agencies, elected officials, and business leaders; o Extensive experience working in fast paced planning and community development environment; o Ability to structure and assemble residential development projects including infrastructure planning, site selection, permitting, financing, development budgets and pro-formas; o Ability to successfully negotiate development agreements with cities, counties, developers, and owners; o Experience negotiating local funding commitments from cities, counties, business and civic organizations; o Ability to manage multi-faceted program activities, finances, outcomes and reporting; o Self directed and capable of working independently without substantial supervision; o Excellent oral and written communication skills; o Highly organized and detail-oriented; ADDITIONAL DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS: o Knowledge of Northeast Minnesota economic, housing and community development issues; o Veteran economic and business development experience; o Effective public speaking and communications skills; o Strong portfolio of successful past residential project developments; ANTICIPATED FIRST YEAR OUTCOMES INCLUDE: o Broker housing deals on behalf of employers and communities at a sufficient pace to accommodate industrial expansion activities that serve a range of identified short-term (temporary) and long-term (permanent), regional workforce housing needs; o Successful planning of a specific number of workforce housing units to meet growing regional workforce housing needs identified by market study; o Formation of successful working partnerships with private sector, forprofit or non-profit builders and developers to accomplish production goals; o Continuous coordination of up-to-date local housing market data to inform regional housing plans and market analysis; o Work with developers and employers to minimize loss of existing permanent workforce housing (preservation);

o Coordinate temporary workforce housing initiatives to identify and seize opportunities to plan permanent housing developments. SALARY AND BENEFITS ARE COMPETITIVE. Please submitted cover letter and professional resume via email to Mary Zanoni ([email protected]) by 5:00 pm, October 17, 2007. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS POSITION CONTACT: Mary Zanoni Human Resources Manager, Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) 221 West First Street Duluth, MN 55802 218.529.7543 [email protected]