50-lot housing development proposed in Mitchell

• Housing site

This piece of land south of Norway Avenue between Wisconsin and Miller Streets in Mitchell is set to become a new housing project. (Chris Huber/Republic)

Talk about it

Both a zoning change and plat for a planned housing development were recommended for approval Monday by the Mitchell Planning and Zoning Commission, which met at City Hall.

Both will now go to the Mitchell City Council next Monday. They would need approval from the council before work could begin.

The Mueller Lumber Morningview Subdivision would include single- and dual-family homes, as well as apartment complexes. The project will be developed in four phases, with 50 lots available for sale.

It would be constructed on a now-vacant lot north of Interstate 90 and south of Norway Avenue. Minnesota Street would be extended one block to the south as part of the development. The 19.6-acre development would be bordered by Miller Avenue on the west and Wisconsin Street on the east.

Bob Mueller, a co-owner of the development, said all of the land is either purchased or nearly purchased. Mueller said he is not sure when construction will begin.

“Hopefully this summer,” he said.

If it receives final approval from the council, it would be classified as a Planned Unit Development. It is now Single Family Residential.

Morris Equipment project

The commission also recommended approval of a project proposed by Morris Equipment, a Pierre-based company that plans to open a sales and rental store at 120 S. Ohlman St., a vacant lot south of the Mitchell Ramada Inn.

A retention pond will be located between the two lots, the planners were told. That would help deal with a drainage issue that has been a problem in the area for decades, Commission Chairman Jay Larson said.

The city Tax Increment Financing Committee recommended approval for a $200,000 TIF for the project last week. The TIF will come before the planners March 25.

The council would have to give final approval to the plan and the TIF before any work can begin. Morris Equipment general manager Doug Smith said work could start in April.

Morris Inc., which is based in Fort Pierre and owns Morris Equipment LLC, plans to construct an 11,000-square-foot building to house a Bobcat dealership with Kubota tractor and lawn-care product lines, a Grand Rental franchise and a Midstota trailer line.

The business would employ seven to 10 full-time employees when it opens, and that could increase to 20 full-time employees by the fifth year of operation. Morris said his son would be brought in to manage the business, but other employees would come from the Mitchell area.

Annual sales are projected to be $3 million to $4 million in the first year of operation, with growth to $10 million by the completion of the fifth year.

Commissioner Bernie Schmucker abstained. He was part of a four-man development team that worked at the site 40 years ago, and said after the meeting he felt for historical reasons it was proper for him not to get involved.

As part of the project, the planners also approved the plat for Lots A, B and C, in Block 5, not including Lots H-2 and H-5, in the Sunnyside Addition to the city.

MTI plat

Approved a plat for Lots 2-A and 2-B of the Mitchell Technical Institute’s Foundation Housing Addition. It’s a subdivision of a previously platted, privately owned development near the campus on land owned by the foundation.

One apartment building is open, and a second is being built, Putnam said. This clears up boundary lines for the project.

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