Housing and commercial development proposed

NEW LONDON – A 30-lot residential and commercial development has been proposed by Tom McHugh Construction, LLC to be located on the northside of New London.
At the July 9 New London Plan Commission meeting, Austin Dyb, director of Community Development for the city of New London, told the commission that the proposed construction of a residential and commercial development would be located on property north of Partridge Drive, north of the existing apartments in that area, and north of Walmart. The proposed development would include 30 residential lots with options for commercial corridors north of the storage units along Shawano Street.
The development would include single-family homes with a “turn-key” approach.
The property for the development is located within Tax Incremental District (TID) 7, which does allow for mixed-use development, Dyb said. He added that development incentives are currently being negotiated with the city and will be presented to the city’s Economic Development Committee for approval.
The road for the development would come off of Partridge Drive to the south and connect to Shawano Street to the east, Dyb said. He added that the county highway department reviewed the project and notified the city that the project could move forward.

Dyb said the property is currently zoned as agriculture, so the property would need to be rezoned for residential and commercial use.

Development
Andy Boehm, a member of the development team, told the committee that Tom McHugh Construction would like to put “a few houses” up in which the company would design a basic floorplan.
“Keeping the sizes reasonable, so we’re not trying to build a very high-end home here,” Boehm said. “We’re trying to build something that is affordable, something that’s reasonable for people to get into.”
Typically, the size of a house starts at around 1,300 square feet, Boehm said

He said affordable housing is difficult to find in the current housing market.
Customers would be allowed to pick a floorplan they like from around five floorplan options, Boehm said. Customers would also be allowed to choose the lot they would want it built on. During the construction, customers would also be allowed to pick the finishes and colors they want used in the house.
“To the customer it feels like you are completing a custom home, like you have a lot of say in the process,” Boehm said. “It’s fun for the customer to do this. They get to shop and pick and choose and really be involved in the process of designing the home.”
This process makes these types of homes available to more homebuyers because it is easier to obtain financing versus financing a construction loan, Boehm said.
Boehm was asked if a commitment to purchase a house was needed before a house would be constructed.
“We might do a mixture of that to start,” Boehm said. “…We would certainly be building and selecting, in my mind, I would say at least three right out of the gate and just building them and putting them out there. Then those are available for people to see.”
Boehm added, “He’ll put those pricing down lower, and the intention is to sell the houses. We don’t just want to have lots and sit on them. Our goal is to sell these things as quickly as we can and build them as quickly as we can. And we do that by making the houses $15,000 to $20,000 cheaper than what the next person is going to be able to build them for.”
Boehm said they can build houses for less money because of the cost they can get materials for and they are building multiples houses at the same time.
He added that the houses built will not all look the same.
“We’re going to have a variety of floorplans that look different from the front and that are going to have different texture, what we would call elevation changes, which is how your roof looks,” Boehm said.
It takes about five months for a home to be built, Boehm said.
Boehm was asked what the timeline would be for the initial phase of the development.
“I think we would be wanting to have houses (built) next year,” Boehm said. “As soon as we could get approval on all of this. If everything is approved, it’s full speed ahead.”

Next steps
New London City Administrator Chad Hoerth said the city is currently negotiating with Tom McHugh Construction on a developer’s agreement for the proposed housing and commercial development.

Dyb added that there are a couple of steps the city must do for this development. He reiterated that the property for the development would need to be rezoned by the city to a residential use. Then a preliminary and final plat process must be completed.
Committee members agreed that the proposed development is needed in the city of New London.
“I’m excited to move forward and see a product,” said New London Mayor Mark Herter.