Colfax Plan Commission says “go ahead” with plans for model home in East View
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Plan Commission has given approval for a developer to start the process for building a model home in the East View housing development on Dunn Street.
John Fraley of Homes by Croix Creek spoke to the Colfax Plan Commission at a meeting September 16 about preliminary plans to build a model home and “starter homes” in East View.
Fraley said he also could build retirement homes but that the most demand he sees is for smaller and more energy-efficient homes.
The houses qualify for a financing program through the United States Department of Agriculture that helps young families. The purpose of the model home is to give people an example they can walk through. Marketing the homes is easier if there is a lot to show with a house rather than asking people to imagine what the house would look like on an empty lot, he said.
Fraley, who is originally from Minnesota, said he is working on a development in Menomonie and that he really likes the area in west central Wisconsin.
One house already exists in East View on Lot 6, so lots 1 through 5 are available, said Scott Gunnufson, village president and chair of the plan commission.
One option would be to put the model home on Lot 5 and have the other four lots for future development, he said.
In Fraley’s experience, split level houses for a starter home have been going well, Gunnufson said.
The house on Lot 6 has a basement, and it turns out the sewer line is at that level, so a split level or a single level on a slab would work well, he said.
The price of lumber keeps increasing, so the houses would be expected to be in the lower $200,000 range, Fraley said.
Logan Michels, village trustee and plan commission member, asked if the model home would be a “spec home” built on behalf of the village.
The developer takes care of everything, and the village is “out of it” other than providing the lot, Gunnufson said.
Developing all five lots would be expected to take between three and five years, he said.
Fraley said the most calls he receives are from young families.
Many of the elderly in Colfax would like to sell their houses and rent, so that could create additional opportunities for development, Gunnufson said.
After the initial houses are built and sold, perhaps Fraley would want to consider building other houses that would appeal to homeowners wishing to downsize, he said.
Phases 2, 3 and 4 in East View will require a retention pond, Gunnufson noted.
Patrick Beilfuss of Cedar Corporation said that since there is a short time left on Tax Increment Finance District 4, perhaps another TIF district could be created to capture the tax increment and put it to use to help with development
If the development needs utilities, for example, the developer could pay for the utilities, and then when the taxes are paid into the TIF district, the money could go to the developer as a way to provide an incentive for development, he said.
The village also could install the utilities and could use the TIF district to pay itself back, too, Beilfuss said.
Lot 5 is already stubbed in for water, but currently there is no sewer line by the lot, said Rand Bates, director of public works.
After the model is built, Fraley said he expected the development to go faster than four years.
The lot on Dunn Street is “an empty lot that’s not doing anything. We should get going,” said Dave Hovre, plan commission member.
The Colfax Plan Commission voted unanimously to start moving forward with Fraley’s plan.
The first step is to get the land transferred to Fraley, said Lynn Niggemann, administrator-clerk-treasurer.
The lot is part of the TIF district, and as part of the incentive to developers, there is no cost for the lot, she said.
After the land is transferred, the next step will be to work on the developer’s agreement, Niggemann said.
More housing
A confirmed offer has been received for land along Dunn Street near the trailer court, Niggemann said.
The developer is expecting to submit plans soon, she said.
This parcel also is in the TIF district, and after September of 2021, money in the TIF account cannot be spent for improvements, Niggemann said.
The plans are for 30 to 40 housing units, and the developer will need a variance because the lot is 2.17 acres, she said.
The housing units will be for low to moderate income renters, and the developer must move quickly to submit an application for financing by December. The developer will know in March or April if the contract has been awarded for the low to moderate income housing, Niggemann said.
The design would be done in 2021, the construction would take place in 2022, and the housing units would be on the tax roll in 2023. The TIF closes out in 2026, she said.
The development and Fraley’s development also could be part of a TIF 5 if a new district is formed, Niggemann said.
The developer is “excited about Colfax.” The $4 million development would be a two to three story apartment complex with 30 to 40 units, she said.
Colfax has hit a threshold and is now considered low to moderate income, Beilfuss said.
Retired people on a fixed income will be interested in the apartments as will young people just starting out in the workforce, he said.
Sometimes there is pushback from communities about having low to moderate income housing being built, but with Colfax now qualifying as low to moderate income for federal financing purposes, the people who would live in the apartments “are your people,” Beilfuss said.
The Village of Colfax was awarded a Community Development Block Grant for the lagoon bank stabilization project to keep the wastewater treatment lagoons from washing out into the Red Cedar River because of the recent designation as a low to moderate income community.
There are some developers out there with good intent who build good projects with a nice appearance, and there are some developers who will do the simplest project they can, Beilfuss noted.
The apartment complex would free up other housing in the village that could be used as “fixer-uppers” for younger families, he said.
High Street
The sale of the former nursing home property on High Street has created three separate parcels, Niggemann said.
The parcel with the driveway off University Avenue has plans for a multi-unit complex, and developers are hoping to pour concrete yet this year, she said.
The lot off University Avenue already has sewer and water because the lot contained a house at one time. The other two lots, which will have access off High Street, need sewer and water to the lots. The purchaser is planning to build duplexes on each lot, Niggemann said.
Nursing home
The lot containing the former nursing home building has been purchased by an investor, Niggemann said.
The investor is looking for ideas about what to do with the building and how to develop it, she said.
One of the ideas is to have storage units inside the building to start out for some cash flow. The building is zoned commercial, Niggemann said.
The investor is not planning to tear down the former nursing home building, she said.
The OCD Foundation did tear down some walls inside the building, but most of the walls are intact. If there is asbestos, it could be cleaned up once there is a plan for how to use the building, Niggemann said.
The investor’s son would like to put apartments in the former nursing home building, but the buyer is not sure that is “the right fit” for the building, she said.
Gunnufson suggested the building might be appropriate for a “self kiosk” motel.
Anyone who has ideas about how the former nursing home building could be used is encouraged to contact Niggemann at the village clerk’s office or by e-mail at clerktreasurer@villageofcolfaxwi.org.