Housing effort — Council advances $5M unmet housing grant with Upton
Newcastle City Council voted to advance a resolution authorizing submission of a $5 million unmet housing needs grant application to the State Loan and Investment Board, a joint effort with the town of Upton aimed at addressing dilapidated properties and expanding housing options in both communities. The council approved the resolution on Jan. 20, following a pitch from Mayor Tyrel Owens.
The grant application, titled Dilapidated to Renovated, seeks funding through the state’s Unmet Housing Grant Program to purchase rundown or unsafe properties, rehabilitate them and then either sell the properties for new home construction or work with builders to develop housing, Owens told the council.
Proceeds from those sales would be placed in a separate revolving account to fund future property acquisition, rehabilitation and resale, according to the resolution.
During council discussion, Councilman Don Steveson questioned next steps if funding is awarded and whether the city could fully implement the project, referencing past experiences where projects stalled and grant funds had to be returned. Steveson also expressed concerns about pushback from homeowners who are not willing to work with the city on cleaning properties up.
Owens said the city has already completed an inventory of dilapidated properties in Newcastle and that legal counsel is developing the framework needed to address those properties if the grant is awarded.
“This has been something that I know that members of this council have been in great favor of cleaning up our town and trying to make the space usable for people to move in,” he said.
Owens also connected the unmet housing effort to potential future growth, noting that if rare earth mineral development moves forward in the region, Newcastle could enter a boom cycle.
He said that if the rare earth mineral development explodes, people will need places to live. Owens suggested that would be proactive, not reactive, by moving forward with the project. He did acknowledge the uncomfortable nature of the project but said that city officials
can’t just let dilapidated structures exist.
Owens added that Mark Lindstrom, Upton’s superintendent, has successfully implemented similar efforts, and Newcastle staff are working with him to learn that process. Having that knowledge at hand, he said, gives him hope that the program will be successful for Newcastle.
The council also discussed potential cost-saving measures, including using demolition debris from dilapidated structures as cover material for a landfill the city is required to cap by 2027. Offering free disposal, officials said, could serve as an incentive for cleanup while reducing project costs.
The resolution designates Beth Blackwell, Newcastle’s grant and loan specialist; Greg Stumpff, Newcastle’s public works supervisor; Kelley Millar, Upton’s clerk-treasurer; and Lindstrom as authorized representatives to act on behalf of both governing bodies for matters related to the grant and acknowledges that any grant funds later found to be noncompliant with state requirements would have to be repaid within 15 days.
Owens once again praised the city’s joint effort with Upton to bring this resolution to fruition. He mentioned the unprecedented nature of municipalities working together to complete projects through funding from the state.
According to the Unmet Housing Grants page on the Office of State Lands and Investments website, the Wyoming Legislature appropriated $5 million to provide grants to Wyoming cities, towns, counties and tribal governments.
“The funds are intended to finance projects that directly support the development of housing to address unmet housing needs across the state, including land acquisition and infrastructure such as water, sewer and utilities,” the website says.
The deadline for applications was Jan. 30 at 5 p.m.
Housing needs in Weston County
Although Weston County’s population declined by about 2.5% between 2010 and 2021, housing challenges remain, according to a 2024 statewide housing needs assessment prepared for the Wyoming Community Development Authority by Root Policy Research of Denver. The entire report is available online.
The county has the highest home ownership rate in Wyoming, a trend partly linked to an aging population. At the same time, employment in Weston County increased by about 4% during the period studied, even as regional employment declined.
Housing construction in the Northeast Region, including Weston County, has historically been dominated by single-family homes, with residential building permits gradually increasing again in the early 2020s after decades of decline tied to past recessions.
While Weston County has the lowest median rent in the region, renters are increasingly cost-burdened, and median-priced homes are affordable to only a limited share of the local workforce. The study also notes rising overcrowding among both renters and homeowners, indicating ongoing housing quality and availability concerns.
Looking ahead, projections show that Weston County may not need additional housing units by 2030 under low housing-loss assumptions.
However, if aging and dilapidated structures continue to be removed from the housing stock, the county could need to add up to 205 housing units to meet future needs — underscoring the importance of efforts to rehabilitate
or replace deteriorating
properties.