Iola City Council members will mull over a request for an incentives package to entice a developer to build a series of duplexes at the north edge of town.
The request from Gabriel Woodman of Merak Development, Springfield, Mo., comes with a stiff price tag, Council members acknowledged Monday.
Woodman has requested the city extend at least two blocks of streets into the undeveloped land at what was once Cedarbrook Golf Course, at an expected cost of $1 million.
Woodman is also asking the city to donate the land for what will be 10 duplexes.
The request sparked an hour’s worth of discussions as Council members learned the benefits and costs of his proposal.
In response to the economic volatility that has followed the COVID-19 pandemic, the state and the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation have allocated state and federal funds into a Moderate Income Housing program that will make grant funding available for development, specifically in rural areas.
Competition for those grant dollars will likely be intense, Woodman said.
But with those grant dollars, such a development project is possible, even in today’s economic climate of high inflation and interest rates, he continued.
Woodman has met informally with the city over the past year to develop his request.
“It’s gonna take a unique funding structure to make it happen,” Woodman said. “This program makes the most sense.”
Woodman is requesting the city sign on to a tax-exempt bond inducement program from the state to allow him to purchase materials without paying sales tax.
To help pave the way for development there, city council members last year approved extending its electric, water and sewer utilities at no cost to potential developers.
With those incentives, Woodman said he could build the units averaging around 1,250 square feet per duplex, and charge about $900 a month per unit.
The rent figure is key, Woodman noted, because it’s targeted for moderate-income households — working families. He estimated most of the workers employed by local industries would fall within the income restrictions.
While noting the costs to the city, Mayor Steve French spoke in favor of the request.
