Sheyenne's housing revival continues

In another step toward improving the local housing situation, a rural ranch house has been successfully relocated to its new foundation in the town of Sheyenne, N.D.

On November 25, Carrington House Moving transported the three-bedroom home, which was donated by Mark and Luann Seastrand, to 301 Pleasant Avenue in Sheyenne.

With the house now in place, efforts will soon commence to prepare the property for sale. Once renovations are complete, the home will feature five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious yard and a brand-new basement, making it an attractive choice for families seeking quality housing in the area.

It's the latest effort by Sheyenne GRIT – a nonprofit community development group – to improve the housing situation in their community.

They've already purchased, renovated and sold one home in Sheyenne, and have also used a Rural Workforce Housing Grant from the N.D. Chamber of Commerce to demolish three blighted houses in town.

Those demolitions – at 301 Pleasant Ave., 201 Richter Ave. and 100 Riverside Avenue – were completed this summer. And by then, plans were already in place to move the donated Seastrand home to the lot at 301 Pleasant Avenue.

Using funds from selling that first home as well as the second half of a $150,000 grant from Strengthen N.D., Sheyenne GRIT had a new basement and foundation built on the property late this fall and had the house moved in Monday afternoon.

"It really came together, and it's kind of a win-win for everybody," said Patti Larson, a board member of Sheyenne GRIT.

"We were able to help out the owner of the old house because they didn't have the funds to tear it down, it helped the Seastrand's because they have a place for their house which they didn't want to see get run down, and it'll certainly help the people who need a home next and who work in our community."

The home that now sits at 301 Pleasant Avenue was first built in 1963 about seven miles southwest of Sheyenne, and Mark Seastrand said it's the home he and his family grew up in.

Earlier this year, Mark, his wife Luann and their daughter Dinah decided to donate the home as it had sat empty for the past seven years, and its foundation began to deteriorate.

But despite sitting empty, the house was well maintained and remained heated throughout those years, and with a brand new foundation in Sheyenne it should make a great future home for another family.

Mark and Luann said it was an emotional process to empty the home of their old belongings, including many pictures, old newspapers and plenty of memories from Mark's childhood and of his late parents.

But now, they just hope another family can call it home.

"We're excited to see a new family in it and I'm pretty sure Mark's mom and dad would be really excited to see somebody getting some use out of it," said Luann.

"It was my mom's pride and joy and I hope it becomes somebody else's pride and joy," added Mark.

Work will now begin to ready the property for sale in the coming months. Larson said they'll install new windows, a new front door, new garage door, new flooring and countertops inside, and of course get it hooked up to the necessary utilities.

It'll be listed for sale online once the work is completed, and the money raised will be reinvested into the Sheyenne community.

Larson said people are already showing interest in purchasing the property, and she encouraged anyone else interested to give her a call at (701) 381-8428.