W
ith patience and strategic planning, the Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS® has parlayed a number of REALTOR® Party resources into a movement that is now yielding much needed housing projects in the rural Minnesota region it serves. Housing Opportunity Grants, together with the Transforming Neighborhoods and Land Use Initiative programs, have helped the 800-member board (operated by a staff of two) build the trust, partnerships and momentum to make it happen.
AE Dolly Wussow and GLAR’s dedicated volunteer leadership have brought about outsize results by forming key local partnerships and tapping into a succession of REALTOR® Party resources for support and advancement. It began with a 2019 Housing Opportunity Grant that GLAR secured to commission a Housing Study for Crow Wing County. This, in short order, prompted the creation of a Housing Trust Fund administered by the county’s Housing Redevelopment Authority to provide grants and loans to property owners, affordable housing developers, and local municipalities for the creation of workforce housing.
But just as this promising resource was launched, COVID got in the way of any effective promotion. GLAR looked beyond the immediate roadblock and successfully applied for NAR’s Transforming Neighborhoods program, which brought an expert Counselors of Real Estate team to Brainerd, Minnesota for an intensive analysis of the community’s development prospects. The resulting report provided a path forward, explains Wussow, identifying promising redevelopment opportunities and outdated zoning policies. As a result of the Housing Trust Fund and the Transforming Neighborhoods assessment, three housing developments that had stalled during the 2008 downturn have been fully revived, she reports, including a sizeable senior living community. “This particular demographic shift was key, because many long-time residents had been remaining in homes that were more space than they needed or wanted, for lack of any ‘right-sized’ places to move into; meanwhile, there weren’t houses for young families in these communities. It was the Housing Report that pointed out the need to create all kinds of inventory to address these situations.”
She adds that NAR’s Land Use Initiative program, which provides the services of a law firm to analyze land-use issues, helped smooth the way with a number of zoning ordinances as these developments got underway. “It was relatively small stuff, but essential, and having this resource available from NAR saved us so much headache!”
Wussow is also proud to serve on the Brainerd Utility Commission, helping to find solutions to power and water infrastructure needs as sites are identified for development – work that supports Minnesota’s goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2040. “It’s a complex issue that will impact ratepayers, and it’s good to have someone representing the interests of property owners in on the decision-making,” she notes.
GLAR makes a point of actively sharing its information with partners and the public. NAR’s monthly RPR reports are posted on its website and mailed directly to county commissioners. In 2025, another Housing Opportunity Grant helped the board to host a high-level summit to further share the expertise of its partners in housing development. Over the course of a morning, speakers from the Brainerd Housing & Redevelopment Authority, Minnesota REALTORS®, and the University of Minnesota Extension Program, as well as a developer involved in Crow Wing County projects, addressed topics such as rural housing trends; insights on the region’s seasonal economy; and lessons learned from recent housing development projects.
Being part of the housing conversation is all-important, says Wussow: “We have access to so much critical information, and we need to provide these facts to our colleagues and partners in this effort. The process can be slow, and sometimes you need to work with hindsight. When elected officials change, sometimes the interest in housing changes, and you have to start over convincing them that housing matters. But anyone who’s going to invest in a community will want to know everything there is to know. Our open dialogue with officials and developers shows them that we’re all fighting for the same things, and the REALTORS® are their best source of housing information.”
To learn more about how the Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS® is using REALTOR® Party resources to help build momentum for increased housing in central Minnesota, contact AE Dolly Wussow at dolly@greaterlakesrealtors.com or 218.828.4567.
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