Minot Housing Authority has been coaxing as much hot water as it can from a failing heat exchanger to tide about 200 tenants in Milton Young Towers over until replacement equipment arrives.

Kerry Candrian, who oversees the building’s maintenance, said hot water issues were identified on April 21. New equipment had to be ordered from the East Coast and it has not yet arrived. Candrian said the existing heat exchanger still has some function, and it has been possible to get the water temperature up to about 110 degrees. Candrian said the estimated wait for the new heat exchanger is another two to three weeks, but MHA is hopeful it could arrive sooner.

Replacement of the aging heat exchanger was part of a plan several years ago to remodel Milton Young Towers, built in 1972. A $5 million grant through the City of Minot’s National Disaster Resilience Program enabled the project to proceed but it was less than requested, requiring scaling back plans and removing the heat exchanger upgrade, Candrian said.

The $6 million renovation project took three years. When it finished in 2023, MHA reported the original elevators and failing cast-iron pipe remained in need of replacement.