The city of Babbitt will receive a grant increase of $450,000 after an IRRRB meeting on Thursday afternoon.
The IRRRB meeting on Dec. 4 included grant increases for several projects.
For Babbitt, the additional grant will be $450,000 for the West Babbitt housing project.
“This project consists of utility infrastructure, roads and sitework to create 18 single-family lots and one site for up to 12 twin/townhomes and one multi-family apartment building.
“The project will connect to existing utilities located west of town. The city completed a housing market analysis in 2024, and the results indicated demand for new housing construction in the Babbitt area.”
IRRR previously approved $1,450,000 for the project in February 2025.
The city has requested additional funds due to a St. Louis County Community Development Block Grant being unavailable for the project and higher than estimated bid costs.
The $450,000 grant increase will bring IRRR’s investment to $1,900,000 and the total project investment to $4,699,069.
The $450,000 comes from the Highway 1 Corridor fund, which was set up long ago for potential projects in Ely, Tower and Cook.
The city was awarded $2 million in state bonding funds as well. Babbitt will need to put in $799,069, down from as much as $1.3 million a month ago.
Another housing project to get a grant increase was the city of Chisholm’s with a $1.8 million boost from the original $500,000 grant for a $3.1 million project. The city of Chisholm will have $843,000 in the project.
Northshore Mining was also on the agenda with a $786,741 rebate to be used for a $1.6 million project to restore historic function of legacy streams located near Northshore Mining’s permitted tailings basin.
In addition to improving water flow of Big and Little 39 Creeks, this project was designed to improve aquatic and floodplain habitat. This is accomplished by adding riffles and pools where appropriate to restore and improve stream functionality.
