March 28, 2024

City eyes next phase for Fairmeadows North

The City of Newton has a problem, and staff couldn’t be happier. Through work on the Housing Initiative, the city has successfully jumpstarted the housing market in Newton and is now in need of additional lots on which to build.

“There are still lots available in town but we are getting a dwindling supply of those,” city director of finance and development Bryan Friedman said. “That is a great problem to be having, in terms of it being a sign of our success with our housing initiative for the past few years.”

To address the shortage, a prime target for expanding the number of lots in the city is the Fairmeadows North subdivision. With all lots in the first phase of Fairmeadows completed and sold, the second phase could add an additional 23 lots and continue the same pattern of development.

“It doesn’t take a city planner to envision where the next roads go,” Friedman said. “As we look at that whole area and envision that road rework being completed for North Seventh Avenue East and North Seventh Place East and East 26th Street North all continuing.”

Friedman continued with the development opportunities that lay beyond the scheduled phase.

“The city had projected a sample master plan for the land north so you can envision lots for more than 100 more families capitalizing on the location near the school, near nice neighborhoods and near 80 acre park,” Friedman said. “It is a great opportunity for the community to continue to develop the subdivisions in that area.”

The biggest hurdle for the expansion is a lack in funding available. While the Housing Initiative provided $3.6 million for dozens of projects through the D&D program, public infrastructure and housing incentives, after all obligations are met, there will only be about $86,000 left for future projects.

To move forward at Fairmeadows North, engineers have estimated road projects and pertinent infrastructure to cost $1 million.

“You take that over 23 lots and it is about $40,000 per lot. That’s not out of line for what other lots are going for, many thousands of dollars more than that in the metro area,” Friedman said. “It is still $1 million to spend.”

In order to accelerate the project as much as possible, city staff has developed a three parallel path plan to bring the subdivision to fruition. The first path is the subdivision approval process. To move forward, the lot layout much be viewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and city council and approved.

“It seems pretty obvious but there are details of how that actually plays out,” Friedman said. “It’s subject to approval is in process now.”

The second path is seeking a development partner. A big goal of the Housing Initiative, Friedman said, was to spur the private market and partner with it to get the home industry moving forward in Newton.

It was envisioned when created the city would participate in about half of the infrastructure costs for a couple of the subdivisions, having an arrangement through grants or other reimbursement costs after the work was completed.

“We do want to continue to seek the interest of the private developers and that is underway through city staff and our development partners, Newton Housing Development Corporation and Newton Development Corporation,” Friedman said.

The third path involves funding the project. An option brought before council is to bond for the additional money to get the project moving as quick as possible.

“That would likely involve some public hearings if they city would decided to bond for more money to jump start the subdivision,” Friedman said. “Knowing as lots would sell or as we would find that private partners some of those costs would be returned to us.”

The city’s other housing project, Cardinal Ridge, will also have lots coming online with infrastructure work currently underway, bringing funds back to the city as they sell.

“But in order to accelerate it there is a thought that instead of waiting in for those lot sales at Cardinal Ridge to come back in and then be applied to Fairmeadows North, we accelerate that by counting on those funds but going forward sooner than just waiting for those,” Friedman said.

With the three parallel paths moving forward, Friedman believes the project should be approved to move forward in June or July. Road construction plans are already formulated and could be bid out in July and awarded in August with late fall construction possible for the subdivision.

“I think we have some good momentum going and I would like to definitely see it continue. We are getting people aware of it in the metro area and surrounding area so I would like to see us moving forward,” councilwoman Evelyn George said.

Councilwoman Miranda Kulis agreed and said she has heard of people becoming more interested because of the Housing Initiative.

“I have actually heard of people who have looked at some surrounding communities and then have heard about some of our housing incentives or haven’t necessarily found what they were looking for in other communities and are now looking in Newton because of that,” Kulis said. “We have seen the developers that have started building and they are continuing to build and my concern would be holding off any longer on these projects, both Cardinal Ridge and Fairmeadows, that we are going to halt some of that excitement and some of the momentum that we have going.”

Further action will need to be taken by council to move forward with any bonding at a future meeting.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com