(Spirit Lake)– A major housing project in Spirit Lake is back on the table after running into some complications previously. Last spring, a developer came to the city with plans for some town homes and apartments on Royal Avenue. The project was contingent on an Iowa Economic Development Authority Grant being awarded. That didn’t happen and the project stalled. Now, City Attorney-Administrator Gregg Owens says there have been some new developments…
“Since that time the developer has since actually purchased that property. Some will know that it was purchased from the Kiwanis Foundation, and the Kiwanis Foundation has benefitted from that to the tune of $840,000, which as a Kiwanis member I want to plug is for kids pretty much from now to infinity will be benefitted in this area from that and in the good hands of that foundation.”
Owens says it likely will be one of the largest affordable housing projects of its kind in Dickinson county…
“It’s a mix of one, two, three bedroom, some efficiency apartments. Some three bedroom townhomes, about half and half. A total of 126 units. The townhomes have attached two-car garages. The city council is excited about this. If you want to measure the level of excitement and the need and the commitment, it’s on the same terms as approved last spring. The council has approved a $500,000 economic development grant which is a cash grant to the developer, and the developer will also be allowed 10 years of multi-residential tax abatement once it is constructed. The developer estimates the value of that benefit to be approximately $620,000. So a little unusual in terms of how the city has attacked housing in the past. I think the council felt this is a project that is very much needed. The group is Eagle Design Build, Talon Development. They are the people in this area in northwest Iowa that build these kinds of apartments and townhomes. There aren’t many developers or builders out there doing it at all other them, so we’re very lucky to have them.”
Owens says Talon plans to apply for the IEDA assistance this spring…
“IEDA will make their decision sometime during the summer and depending on timing and when that decision comes down, they may break ground in the fall or more likely may break ground in the spring of 2026 and then we’ll just keep building until they’re done and the estimated best case scenario from the time they break ground to completion, probably a 14 month process. It’s a lengthy process, but the best case would be 14 months when they’ve got people moving in and paying rent. By the way these all will be for rent townhomes and apartments, not condos, not home ownership kind of thing.”
The Spirit Lake City Council Tuesday adopted a resolution supporting Talon LLC’s application to the IEDA.
