Bill Gschwind, MNCLS Principal Attorney and Founding Partner, was recognized as the 2020 Housing Industry Leader of the Year!
The award is provided by Housing First Minnesota, a trade association that is the leading voice and advocate for affordable housing in Minnesota. The majority of Housing First Minnesota’s members are home builders and remodelers
Bill has been involved in Housing First Minnesota for almost 10 years and is the Chair of the Regulatory and Affairs Committee and Chair of the Innovation Subcommittee that is a part of the overall Advocacy Committee. Bill, along with the other Regulatory and Affairs committee members, continue to lead and contribute to a multi-year project to change the trajectory of building codes in Minnesota. The project works to redefine building codes and processes that would impact not only the builders but the overall housing market, the center focus of Housing First Minnesota.
Bill and his team’s focus is on analyzing the current process and costs of building codes and creating plans to better the system. Over the years, the rules and regulations regarding building codes have increased causing a major influx in costs. While the builders bear the brunt of the initial costs, it is ultimately the homeowner that these increased costs are passed on to, furthering the crisis of affordable housing in Minnesota. Since contractors must adhere to the time-consuming and expensive building codes, it raises the costs of the project. This causes a domino effect in the housing market creating expensive, and often unattainable, housing options.
Bill and the Housing First Minnesota’s mission is to counteract the unchallenged rise of building codes that serves to benefit large companies and manufacturers. Bill, and in expansion MNCLS, partner with Housing First to create better working conditions for general contractors and the construction industry.
Minnesota Construction Law Services understands the highly regulated conditions that general contractors work under, and while we tirelessly work to protect and represent our clients on an individual and business level, we equally acknowledge that the industry is constructed in a manner that impedes general contractors daily work.
The exhausting building codes have impacted many general contractors’ bottom line because each factor increases project costs causing increased employment issues, timeline delays, and unforeseen obstacles. That’s why Bill and the team at Minnesota Construction Law Services serve in committees and organizations, such as Housing First Minnesota, in the first place; we want to not just help our individual clients, but we want to shift the construction industry to lessen the burdens all general contractors carry.
The project is a result of dedicated individuals and businesses that want to improve the housing environment conditions that impact the entire market. It’s a collective effort of noteworthy individuals and businesses coming together to take action that will change the trajectory of the entire housing environment in Minnesota.