City to open Eagle Loop development
By Jerry W. Kram
The City of New Town will be selling lots in its Eagle Loop development on Sand Hill to the public. The lots will not be available or the price firmly set until later this summer.
The city has been trying to find a developer to build on the property for close to four years. The city council wanted to trade most of the 38 lots in exchange for eight to 10 units the city could use for employee housing. The city got no takers in 2012 and 2013, so it spent $1.2 million to install streets, water and sewer utilities to make the project more attractive to developers. An agreement to develop the project in 2014 fell through when the developer’s financing failed to materialize.
In March, the city decided to build its own housing on six of the lots and to make the rest available to the public. At a Tuesday afternoon council meeting, a motion was adopted to make the remaining 32 lots available for the public to purchase. The city will retain one additional lot to create a public park. The council members also set a limit on the maximum number of lots any one entity can purchase at eight. Council members wanted to make sure that individuals will be able to purchase the lots.
The council instructed City Attorney Bill Woods to draw up the purchase agreement for the development. The agreements will specify that the purchaser will be required to build on the lot in a finite period, most likely within two years. High quality modular homes and stick built homes will be allowed in the development.
