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Room to grow

Apartment zoning clears first hurdle

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
While it’s corn stubble and dirt now, a 10.3-acre plot of land at North 29th Street and Sixth Avenue North was recommended by the Fort Dodge Plan and Zoning Commission to be rezoned from Agricultural to Multi-Family Residential Tuesday afternoon. Their recommendation now goes to the full City Council for final approval.

The Fort Dodge Plan and Zoning Commission voted Tuesday afternoon to recommend a zoning change for a 10.3 acre parcel of land near the Fort Dodge Middle School from Agricultural to Residential Multi-Family to make some new apartments possible.

The change, if approved by the City Council, would let Eagle Construction, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, build a 93-unit apartment complex near the intersection of North 29th Street and Sixth Avenue North.

Josh Kruger, vice president of Eagle Construction, attended the meeting to answer questions.

“We would like to get moving as soon as possible,” Kruger said. “We would like to start construction in early summer.”

He said it would take about 13 months to finish the build. The complex would be a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Josh Kruger, vice president of Eagle Construction, Inc., of Sioux Falls, speaks in front of the City of Fort Dodge Plan and Zoning Commission about a zoning change from Agricultural to Residential Multi-Family that would allow his company to build a 93-unit apartment complex on a 10.3 acres plot near the Middle School. The Commission approved the zoning change and it now moves onto consideration by the full City Council.

While actual rent would vary with size and layout, he said units would range from about $700 month to about $1,065 month. Size would range from 570 square feet for the studio units up to 960 square feet for the two-bedroom units.

There would be no three-bedroom units.

“You get too close to townhouse rent,” Kruger said. “Most people who are looking for a three-bedroom prefer a condo.”

Kruger said his company currently has about 1,500 individual apartments. They have buildings in Mason City, Sioux City, Spirit Lake, Sheldon and several others.

“We have a really good track record with communities in Iowa,” he said. “We also still hold all the units we’ve built.”

-Submitted graphic
A zoning map shows where the proposed apartment buildings would be built.

The project would also include two 12-unit garage buildings and five, five-unit townhome complexes. Kruger said that future plans call for additional phase two construction.

The recommendation for the change passed unanimously. It will now be considered by the full City Council at its March 9 meeting.

In other action, the Plan and Zoning Commission also voted new officers for 2020.

The new chair is Steve Kersten, last year’s vice chair. Mike Doyle is this year’s vice chair. The board rotates members through the leadership positions. Last year’s chair was board member Lisa Wilson.

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