Rochester puts $4.4 million toward 219-home development

ROCHESTER – A 219-home development in the northwest part of town is set to receive close to $4.4 million in local sales tax funding.

The Rochester City Council on Monday approved investing in the project by area developer Bigelow Homes as part of an affordable housing program created by the city.

The Westbury development, between 55th and 60th avenues NW. and south of King Arthur Road, will take up about 60 acres, according to the developer. It will include split-level homes and slab-style houses, built without basements, which saves on costs, along with a few two-story slab homes. About 100 of those homes will be sold between $350,000 to $380,000.

It’s the second project to get money from the homeownership-creation program that stipulates that at least one out of five homes can be sold within area median-income guidelines — about $370,000 to $420,000. The remaining homes must be listed at less than $500,000.

Rochester created the program using part of its 2023 local sales tax referendum. The city expects to spend about $50 million total on housing using local sales tax money.

About $33 million of that will be spent on new housing, including street and sewer infrastructure to pave the way for more developments. Another $14 million will go to programs geared toward rehabbing existing homes.

Taryn Edens, assistant director of economic growth for Rochester, told the council Monday that the program has attracted significant interest from developers and she expects more applications over the coming months.