A Housing Summit was hosted by Dakota Resources, in conjunction with Lake Francis Case Economic Development on May 17th, 2023 in Chamberlain, SD. The event was held to tackle the issue surrounding limited housing in South Dakota. It was a two-day summit that had 50 economic developers from the state in attendance.

Alison Woods, a Broker Associate with Juffer Real Estate Inc., was one of many on-hand for the summit. She went there in hopes of gaining insights for the Wagner community. Ideas regarding the ability to create affordable housing opportunities and new housing options were shared both days “I was able to connect directly with a number of state and federal housing program officials to discuss the availability of financial resources for communities for these types of projects. I collaborated with representatives from the USDA Rural Development, GROW South Dakota Dakota Resources, Senator Rounds Office, South Dakota Housing Development Authority and also neighboring communities that are facing some of the same struggles that Wagner is,” commented Woods.

Throughout the two days of the summit collaboration and brainstorming occurred. Topics that addressed affordable housing finance, creative partnerships with communities, leveraging local resources and workforce housing were discussed at length. Presentations by South Dakota Housing Development Authority, ISG Engineering as well as case studies from Planning District III occurred.

The communities of Burke, Tripp, Canton, Estelline, Centerville, De Smet and Lemmon also had representatives in attendance at the housing summit. Woods appreciated the ability to converse and participate in breakout sessions with other neighboring communities in an effort to problem solve.

Woods mentioned, “Wagner was actually used as an example in a small group exercise we did. There were a number of fictitious scenarios where (a) group has to decide what was the best area in Wagner to start a new housing development. It was great to see how people from outside the community viewed things and so glad I was able to bring that back and share with Wagner Area Growth and the Wagner Housing Board.”

The hosts of the summit, Dakota Resources and Lake Francis Case Economic Development, are dedicated to growth in South Dakota in general and the state’s rural areas. Especially when it comes to housing and enhancing the quality of life for those in and around the region of Lake Francis Case. Economic growth and community development are of vital importance to these two organizations.

The summit was well received by Woods as she described housing to be a “huge need” in the Wagner area. Community meetings for Wagner have also highlighted how there is a necessity for additional housing.

“When there have been community meetings it has been identified as one of the more major issues our community is facing. Luckily for Wagner there are a number of individuals who have volunteered to serve on these different boards and groups to try and create more housing options,” noted Woods.

Exciting times for Wagner regarding housing options are in the works according to Woods. The city council and the housing board are in the process of working with a builder. This will hopefully result in the construction of a new housing development in Wagner.