By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
As multiple efforts to alleviate the extremely tight local housing market remain in various stages of development, home construction continues in the Tallgrass addition, northwest of 22nd and Wheatland in Hays.
The project is set to soon cross a significant milestone as the first of four phases will quickly be completed, and work on a new phase will begin.
“Right now, there are 14 homes that are occupied by homeowners, there's roughly 18 or 19 homes at various levels of construction, and then another three or four will be started here soon,” said Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams. “There were 36 lots in that first phase, and so pretty quickly it's going to be all built out. And they've started construction on the next cul-de-sac, which will have 18 buildable lots.”
Infrastructure for the next home construction phase is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
When completed, 75 homes will be located in the addition, supported financially by a Rural Housing Incentive District and a donation of land from the Heart of America Development Corporation.
So far, four area developers have built homes in the addition, all sold under the required $225,000 price.
“The ultimate benefactor in all of this is the homeowner,” Williams said. “They're buying a home at what arguably is $25,000 to $40,000, under what it might sell for in our current market. And they have no special assessments on their home, which is typical in new construction areas. You've got the market value for a lot like that, it's probably around $30,000, currently in Hays. And you would have special assessments that would run for 15 or 20 years at $175 to $200 a month.
“So it’s really a great opportunity for homeowners to purchase a home and, and be able to live out there in a more cost-effective manner,” he continued. “And it's been terrific. The only challenge we've really had is building them fast enough because everything out there that has been built is sold long before it was finished.”
And while housing is quickly filling the developed plots, Williams said Heart of America had purchased the 21 acres to the north for development as well.
“They will have further plans of developing that, as well as developing the stretch along Wheatland drive, which is the entrance into NCK Technical College, they will be developing that as well,” Williams said. “So, things will continue to happen out there. And if you look around Hays, Ellis or Victoria anywhere, there are not many buildable lots. So, we are we are really needing to develop some buildable lots. And that's what Heart of America is doing.”