Appleton provides $600,000 to support condominium project on former Foremost Farms property
APPLETON - The city will provide up to $600,000 in public assistance to support the construction of an eight-unit townhouse condominium project in the 900 block of East John Street.
The project, called Eagle Ridge, is the third and final phase of the redevelopment of the former Foremost Farms USA whey plant along the Fox River.
The first phase brought the 99-unit Eagle Point Senior Living with an assessed value of $15 million. The second phase brought the 28-unit Eagle Court Memory Care with an assessed value of $5 million.
Matt Rehbein, economic development specialist for the city, estimated that Eagle Ridge will have an assessed value of $4 million. The three-story condos will be available for sale at market rates to any buyers.
"They won't specifically be targeted at the senior community," he said.
Community and Economic Development Director Karen Harkness said the condos will be attractive to people who have a family member in Eagle Point or Eagle Court and want to live nearby.
"There is absolutely a market out there for that so we believe that they're not going to have any problem selling these condo units," Harkness said.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring and be finished by the end of 2023.
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The public assistance was approved by the Common Council on Wednesday and will be funded through Tax Incremental Financing District 8. According to an agreement between Appleton and EP Development Inc., the city will provide the lesser of $595,750 or 25% of the incremental value of the property on Jan. 1, 2024, plus interest, to support the project.
"That's about the maximum that were able to do before this TIF district statutorily has to close," Rehbein said.
The incentive will be paid over time as sufficient property taxes are collected on the new development. "They don't get the money unless they create the increment," Harkness said. "There's no risk on the city."
EP Development is a Madison-based partnership between Alexander Co. and Tukka Properties. It purchased the former Foremost property totaling 8.3 acres from the Appleton Redevelopment Authority in March 2017. The redevelopment authority had demolished the plant and cleaned up the site for redevelopment.
Harkness said the Eagle Ridge site has challenges, including its small size and elevation changes, that make public assistance appropriate. She said the development wouldn't proceed without TIF money.
"We are thrilled that the developer that has been with us all of these years to develop this site has stuck with it and has worked hard to come up with a concept that will fit on this small site," Harkness said.
Within a TIF district, all of the additional property taxes generated from new development in the district — the increment — is set aside to cover costs incurred or promised by the municipality to bring about that development. The tax revenues from the increment are diverted from the school district, county and technical college for as long as the district is in place.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton provides $600,000 to support townhouse condominium project
