Burleigh County Housing Authority was awarded an $892,000 grant to develop eight one-bedroom homes for North Dakotans with disabilities.

This is the first time the housing authority applied for the grant, said Mike Zainhofsky, executive director of Community Homes of Bismarck, the entity the grants were applied for under.

The grant will pay for eight one-bedroom units on West Bowen Avenue and 24-hour-a-day support services, Zainhofsky said. The authority hopes to have the units go out for bid by March 2007, he said.

Included in the $892,000 grant is rental assistance for five years for the residents, Zainhofsky said.

Earlier in the year, the housing authority received a $391,000 grant for four other units, which also will be bid for by March 2007.

So far, there are 36 similar one-bedroom units that are full, Zainhofsky said. He anticipates the need to be at around 50 more in the next five years.

"I think this is really a needed project in our community,"Zainhofsky said.

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with funds appropriated by Congress.

-Crystal R. Reid