31-unit housing project proposed in Mitchell

• Proposed TIF

This empty lot south of the Mitchell Middle School is the location of a proposed tax increment financing district for a multi-family housing project. (Chris Huber/Republic)

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• Mitchell TIF No. 19

A proposed tax increment financing district for a 31-unit housing project south of the Mitchell Middle School received approval Monday from the city’s TIF Review Committee.

The proposal will now go to the Mitchell Planning and Zoning Commission for further consideration, with a public hearing scheduled for Jan. 28, according to City Planner Neil Putnam.

The proposed TIF district would coincide with the development of a 31-unit housing complex on a section of land south of West Eighth Avenue, north of West Seventh Avenue, east of North Iowa Street and west of North Montana Street. The land is located directly south of Mitchell Middle School.

The new property taxes generated by the housing project in the TIF would fund a 412-foot extension of the North Montana Street right-of-way between West Eighth Avenue and West Seventh Avenue. That strip of North Montana Street is currently a gravel road, but if the TIF is approved, it would be upgraded with water, curb and gutter, as well as a sidewalk, according to a project plan.

The improvements are estimated to cost $140,000, the plan says.

A TIF district uses the new property taxes generated by a development project to pay for public improvements, in this case road infrastructure, in the project area. The new property taxes on this project will start to be collected in 2015 and end prior to 2031, the project plan says.

The developer of the housing project, Wisconsin-based Antach Management Corp., would be issued up to a $243,526 grant to pay for the infrastructure improvements, professional and administrative fees, plus interest and a $10,000 contingency fund. Antach would procure its own financing for the project, and then be repaid by the money generated by the TIF.

The TIF would exist until it generates $243,526 or for 20 years, whichever comes first, according to Antach’s attorney Don Petersen, of the Mitchell law firm Morgan Theeler.

The property is currently valued at $13,370, the report says, and the proposed improvements are estimated to add more than $2.9 million to the assessed property value.

According to the project plan, construction of the housing project is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2013. The complex will consist of 16 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom apartments for a total of 31 units, which will include a combination of single-story, handicapped-accessible cottage style townhomes and two-story townhomes. Each will have individual entries, attached one-car garages, and additional parking.

The townhomes will include a full kitchen, including a microwave, washer/dryer hookups, ceiling fans, walk-in closets and a patio. Residents will also have access to a community room, library, computer room and media room, the plan says. The plan estimates the cost of the project at $3.257 million.

An in-depth study into Mitchell’s housing market, funded mainly by Mitchell Area Development Corp., was completed and released in September and found an overwhelming need for additional rental housing in the city. The study, which found there was essentially no apartment availability in Mitchell, is cited directly in the plan for this new project.

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