Rock County home initiative garners eight new homes in first year

A new home under construction in Kanaranzi Township is the eighth in Rock County to be approved for tax abatement under the county’s Home Initiative Program since it began over a year ago.
“This program is doing exactly what we wanted it to do — build new homes in Rock County,” said Commissioner Jody Reisch.
The home initiative encourages the construction of new single family housing units to replace dilapidated housing structures in Rock County. The program began Sept. 1, 2019, and continues through Aug. 31, 2024.
Eligible participants can apply for a property tax abatement of the county’s share of increased real estate taxes as a result of the new construction.
Commissioners approved the latest home initiative request to Colin Lyndorff and Ashely Nye at their Oct. 20 meeting. The amount of $785 will be abated for the next five years for a total of $3,923.
The Lyndorff/Nye request brings the total of the abatements approved in the past year to $6,240 annually or about $31,190 over five years.
When the initiative was adopted in 2019, commissioners put a cap on applications to the program not to exceed 10 percent of the county’s net tax capacity or $200,000, whichever is greater.
Applications for the Rock County Home Initiative can be found at the county’s website, www.co.rock.mn.us/general information/Rock County Home Initiative Policy.