The City Council of Webster City passed a resolution Monday to provide an economic development grant as an incentive for development of a proposed 218-unit housing development on the city’s southwest side.
The development will be named Wilson Estates and built by Kading Properties LLC, of Urbandale.
As its incentive to Kading, the City of Webster City is proposing an economic development grant “in an aggregate amount, not to exceed the lesser of 20% of the demonstrated infrastructure costs, or $1,200,000.”
The infrastructure project referred to includes improvements to existing streets, building of new streets within the development, and extension of water and sewer utilities to serve the new apartments.
Altogether, those improvements are estimated to cost $5,741,303. That figure includes land cost, contingencies, and engineering and interest expenses.
The biggest portion of the infrastructure project costs — $2,214,475 — will fund construction of two new streets inside the development, to be called Tulip Trail and West Heart Street.
A further $1,429,831 will be spent on improvements to Wall Street, and $571,558 for Lynx Avenue. Water and sewer extensions are estimated to cost $1,525,439.
To obtain the grant, Kading agrees to complete the housing project and complete the infrastructure project. It must also document the costs it incurs in completion of the infrastructure project.
Upon acceptance of the improvements called for in the infrastructure project, Kading agrees to provide the city a deed, or permanent easement, for the street and utility improvements it makes within the development. The infrastructure will be maintained by the city thereafter.
Chase Hauschilt, an official with Kading, said both he and the firm’s attorneys had reviewed the incentive proposal and found it satisfactory.
“It gives us the confidence to proceed with design, engineering and preliminary platting of the development,” he said.
Diana and Rob Carpenter, of Webster City, told the Council at the meeting Monday: “We’re not against development, but have several questions about this project.” They asked why Kading was developing the land off Wall Street rather than land near Edgewood Drive which Rob Carpenter said “already has streets, curbs and sidewalks.”
Hauschilt said that the developer “strongly prefers to build on plots of 10 or more acres. Development is expensive, especially in rural Iowa, but a project of this size makes the project more feasible. We wanted to develop this land in 2020, so when it came up for sale this year, we were ready to proceed.”
Diane Carpenter said the couple drove through a Kading development in Madrid and felt the maintenance and general appearance of the property was poor. They asked their son, who lives in Adel, to look at a Kading property there and he reached the same conclusion. Finally, they cited a large number of complaints from residents and neighbors of Kading properties, and photos of Kading units from the company’s website asking why there was so much negative feedback about the company’s apartments.
Hauschilt replied, “There are negative online reviews for every real estate development. We hold ourselves to very high standards, and when we come to a community, we’re here to stay. We’ve never sold any of our developments.”
Kading has built more than 2,500 housing units in 26 different developments across Iowa.
On February 3, a public hearing will be held to review and approve an update of the city’s Urban Renewal Plan. This is required before the city can proceed with TIF (tax increment) financing for the development.
View this article as it originally appeared in the Daily Freeman-Journal.
Last modified: January 21, 2025