THURSDAY, April 30, 2026 |
Photo – Ferguson Building – Bigfoot99 file photo
The State Loan and Investment Board approved a $750,000 request from the City of Rawlins to build workforce housing.
On April 23rd, the State Loan and Investment Board held a special workshop to consider 22 Unmet Housing Needs Grant Program funding requests. The City of Rawlins was among the grant applicants, seeking money to convert the Furguson Building into “attainable workforce apartments.”
In 1912, Ferguson Mercantile, then the largest general‑merchandise business in western Wyoming, purchased the J.E. Hugus and Company building at the northeast corner of 5th and Cedar Streets in Rawlins. The site operated as a general store until the late 1960s, when Ferguson Mercantile closed. The structure then sat largely unused for decades and, by the early 2000s, was in an advanced state of disrepair.
In 2013, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners purchased the Hugus‑Ferguson Building for $150,000 with plans to relocate the Carbon County Museum into the structure, but renovation costs estimated at up to $1 million made the move untenable. The Museum Board abandoned the plan in September 2020, and two years later, ownership was transferred to the Rawlins Downtown Development Authority, which still holds the property.
Last spring, the Downtown Development Authority commissioned a study of the Ferguson Building to determine if the structure could serve as a hotel or apartment complex. Ayers Associates, the firm hired by the state to conduct the study, determined that more housing was needed and suggested renovating the building into affordable apartments.
After receiving the completed report in January, the City of Rawlins submitted an Unmet Housing Needs Grant Program application to the State Loan and Investment Board. On April 23rd, SLIB met to consider the requests.
While discussing a $500,000 application from the City of Lander for housing infrastructure, Secretary of State Chuck Gray introduced a motion to ensure that only U.S. citizens benefit from the Unmet Housing Needs Grant Program. Under the proposed conditions, Secretary Gray argued that individuals in the country on temporary work or student visas, known as nonresident aliens, could technically qualify for homes built using the state funds. In addition, Gray said the State Loan and Investment Board, not the municipalities, should be responsible for verifying that applicants are legal residents.
Secretary Gray said Wyoming residents find it “offensive” that state funding could go to nonresident aliens.
State Treasurer Curt Meier said the Wyoming Constitution expressly prohibits the state from stopping nonresident aliens from buying property. Treasurer Meier said approving Secretary Gray’s motion would constitute a breach of public trust.
Treasurer Meier said that by discriminating against nonresident aliens, the members of the State Loan and Investment Board would be guilty of perjury and would no longer be able to hold public office in Wyoming.
Secretary Gray objected to the treasurer’s interpretation of the state constitution, arguing that the relevant provision only applies to the right to possess property and does not relate to the disbursement of state funding.
Secretary Gray introduced several amendments to withhold Unmet Housing Needs Grant Program funding from nonresident aliens, but none received a second.
The Board eventually moved on to consider the funding request from the City of Rawlins. State Auditor Kristi Racines moved to authorize the city’s $750,000 grant request to transform the Ferguson Building into workforce apartments. Secretary Gray introduced an amendment to ensure that the state-funded housing is only available to legal U.S. residents.
To verify that every housing applicant is a U.S. citizen, Secretary Gray said the Office of State Lands and Investment must use the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program and report the results to the State Loan and Investment Board. The motion died for lack of a second.
Before the Board voted on the city’s application, Auditor Racines said the Ferguson Building apartments will not include income limits. The homes will instead be offered to Rawlins’ workers at a fair market price.
Secretary Gray said he supports the city’s housing project but will still vote against the application. The Secretary of State said he cannot back any project that may direct state funding to nonresidents, adding that many in Wyoming share his view.
The State Loan and Investment Board approved the city’s $750,000 request to convert the Ferguson Building into an apartment complex. As promised, Secretary of State Gray voted against the motion.
