The City of Sheboygan Falls has signed a developer’s agreement with Hillcrest Builders to construct the first residential subdivision in Sheboygan County since the Great Recession, according to the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation.
The 29-home project will be located at North Main Street and Willow Drive, behind the Willow Creek Condominiums.
The project is being financed by a special assessment in which the City of Sheboygan Falls will pay for water and sewer enhancements and Glenbeula-based Hillcrest Builders will refund the city as building permits are pulled.
This summer, Sheboygan Falls created a new residential zoning district, called “Nostalgic Residential Zoning,” allowing for dense development on smaller lot sizes, which will provide smaller price points for home buyers.
Typically, new homes cost home buyers upwards of $350,000 on an average lot size.
“With only six residential lots left in the entire city, Sheboygan Falls needed room to grow,” said Sheboygan Falls Mayor Randy Meyer. “Because new land development costs rose quickly, we knew as a city we had to get creative.”
Oyvind Solvang, owner of Hillcrest Builders said he is excited to offer a new product that will appeal to people who want a quality home that has a low-maintenance quality of life.”
“Both empty-nesters and millennials are seeking nicer homes on smaller lots,” said Shad Tenpas, city administrator. “Why as a country did we decide the American dream meant cutting a lot of lawn? Sheboygan Falls has reacted to market demands and we are excited to be among the first providing this type of subdivision in eastern Wisconsin.”
The city expects to invest about $600,000 in water and sewer and road improvements which will be paid off over the next 10 years with no anticipated cost to taxpayers, Tenpas said.
The Sheboygan County Economic Development Corp. commissioned a study in 2017 that found 230 owner-occupied units must be built annually in the county to keep up with its job growth.
There are 47,347 households in Sheboygan County and despite the job growth, residential building in Sheboygan County began to slide in 2006 and has never returned, according to the study by Schaumburg, Illinois-based Tracy Cross & Associates Inc.
According to the Wisconsin Builders Association, Sheboygan County only had eight single-family housing permits pulled in 2017 and nine pulled in 2016.
