Outlot 2 development – Take two
Outlot 2 development – Take two
by Jerry W. Kram
The New Town City Council began the replay of its efforts to develop Outlot 2 for residential housing.
Several developers were on hand to make presentations about their plans for the 14 acre plot of land that is also known as Sand Hill. The city entered an agreement to swap the land in exchange for units it could use for employee housing last spring, but the developer wasn’t able to pull together the financing needed to get the project started, so the city council nullified the contract. In December, the council voted to put out a new request for proposals for the project.
Two groups gave presentations about how they would develop the site. One group, J2 Ventures, said they had prepared a plan for the council last year, but wasn’t able to submit to the city before the deadline. The group’s director of development, Jodi Winters, told the council that their preliminary proposal would include 218 units that would include 90 town homes and 120 rental units. In addition, the development would include eight single family homes.
The plan presented by J2 Ventures said the town homes would cost between $229,000 and $269,000 and that the rental units would go for between $1,050 and $1,950 a month. Winters said the prices are competitive with housing that is already on the market.
“The largest challenge we had with this proposal last time was financing,” Winters said. “We have had some recent breakthroughs in funding, so we don’t think that is going to be a problem.”
Derek Rice Camp of Dakota Built Homes said his group has already built homes in the area, including several in Stanley. He was concerned that the city’s proposal would require the developer to build all the street and sewer infrastructure for the project. He said the extra cost may push what he would have to charge for a house from less than $250,000 to close to $300,000.
