The housing push continues east. Streets, cul-de-sacs and a home have been built - a mere skeleton of the sprawling 195-acre Greystone housing subdivision that will be completed within a decade.
On Thursday, developers and builders in the northeast St. Joseph development held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to announce the sale of its inaugural home. The first family moves in next month.
Greystone has been on a two-year journey involving voluntary annexation by the city of St. Joseph and $4.8 million tax-increment financing to build the large housing development, with homes ranging from $180,000 to perhaps $1 million.
Five builders are constructing four communities as part of Greystone. The development will have 362 homes when it is completed in eight to 10 years.
The lot sizes range from 8,000 square feet to up to four acres, said Tim Knapp, who is developing a 140-unit complex of townhomes called The Commons. The other communities are the The Hills, The Highlands and The Estates West.
"This will be the largest subdivision put in St. Joe in the last 25, 30 years," Mr. Knapp said. "If you want to be near the city with the country feeling and you want fire, police protection and you want sewers, schools and all that - then this is where you want to be."
Schools are a major concern. Currently nearby, there is an overburdened Coleman Elementary. The St. Joseph School District projects that 140 to 150 elementary school students will arrive with the development of Greystone.
Developments such as Carriage Hills and Carriage Oaks are also expected to bring more residents into northeast St. Joseph.
Greystone, which is located north of Cook Road and east of Woodbine Road in far northeast St. Joseph, would have been outside city limits a few years ago. However, in early 2007, the city voluntarily annexed the land - St. Joseph's first known voluntary annexation before houses were built.
The city annexation gives Greystone municipality coverage for services including police, fire, school and library.
Last year, the City Council also approved a $4.8 million tax increment financing agreement that will pay for widening to three lanes a section of Cook Road and a sewer with Greystone's new property taxes that would otherwise go to schools, libraries and city and county government. The city also imposed new sewer impact fees of $500 each per residential unit at Greystone - another first.
Mr. Knapp said between 20 and 25 homes are being constructed per year. He said TIF dollars will widen Cook Road in four or five years.
Greystone features seven ponds, a waterfall, walking trails and a natural wooded setting. Five builders are partnering in the subdivision as part of Greystone Partners Land Development LLC. They are Don Clark, Grant Thomas and Mr. Knapp, Gary Kerns Homebuilders LLC, Mark Manville Construction and Vasut Construction Inc.
Mary Jo Siela of Reece & Nichols is marketing the subdivision.
Ahmad Safi can be reached
at ahmadsafi@npgco.com.
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Sidamo says...
"Last year, the City Council also approved a $4.8 million tax increment financing agreement that will pay for widening to three lanes a section of Cook Road and a sewer with Greystone's new property taxes that would otherwise go to schools, libraries and city and county government."
Did you re-read that? "with Greystone's new property taxes that would otherwise go to schools"!!! Greystone (aka "Tombstone") says "Schools are a major concern." Oh, really? Put your TIF money where your mouth is.
Apple? 238er? Come on! I've said many times that Developers are a huge part of why we can't have new schools. All of the newer school districts we lust after recieve contributions from new developments. This is an outrage!
August 21, 2009 at 8:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yougottabekiddingme says...
WTF?? Why would our city give 4.8 million dollars to developers of greystone that could have gone to schools in the middle of a recession and housing slump when our school administration is screaming about their financial armegeddon?? That doesn't make any sense.
August 21, 2009 at 8:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Sidamo says...
yougottabekiddingme, remember originally Tombstone was to contribute to the sewers and streets. Tombstone agreed, the TIF was awarded, then Tombstone changed their mind, and the City said, "ok, whatever you say".
August 21, 2009 at 8:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biggieroth says...
Sidamo...sometimes you have to invest for the future...what if it wasn't built at all?
"The school district agrees to give up about 11 years of increased real estate property taxes from the 360 new homes. But it would get $1.5 million to help pay for a new school" NPG 2/08
"The property currently only pays about $2,665 in taxes to the schools, city, Buchanan County and Rolling Hills Consolidated Library District. After the TIF expenses are repaid, the schools alone would collect an estimated $790,000 a year in taxes." NPG 2/08
August 21, 2009 at 8:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yougottabekiddingme says...
biggieroth, only one problem with that - we are in the middle of a housing slump. They would have to sell the 360 homes before that projection would come to fruition.
August 21, 2009 at 8:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Sidamo says...
Biggie, where's the $1.5M?
August 21, 2009 at 8:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biggieroth says...
I agree, we are in a housing slump, but the houses will eventually sell and the tax base will eventually be there.
This entire issue is about planning for the future.
August 21, 2009 at 10:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
heritage_sarahhochschwender says...
aw, come on guys, the developer "only wanted a level playing field".
until about two draws ago this group was pretty crafty the way they were billing the city...... now they actually have to document and itemize their bills.
the very first article in the "special reports" school section is entitled..... "greystone...." the chamber of commerce was instrumental in bring this here, and also worked to assure that knapp and associates would not have to pay impact fees. their rationale is very much the same as some use regarding getting quality new blood to come to st joseph for the position of superintendent of schools. i am bloody sick of "why would anyone come here" and "things are SO much better in north KC".
195 acres..... hmmmmm why aren't they donating land to put a school there? 1.5 million is kind of a joke, as i recall the schools the bond was going to build were each estimated at ten times that pittance.
August 21, 2009 at 10:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
238er says...
Apple, whether or not the district agreed was immaterial. The district does not have authority to block this one way or another. At best all it can do is try to get some additional benefits under the agreement knowing they have no power to block the deal. The TIF commission upon which the district has one vote is merely advisory. The council can do what it wants.
As it is right now, the district has not lost one nickle or incurred one penny in expense.
August 21, 2009 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Sidamo says...
apple, what you're saying the district needs to do is LEAD. IF they believe that a school must be built, then don't hire lawyers and PR or allow groups to force ballot measures, make public appearances to explain. Take input, correct misunderstandings, then DO what they SAY. If only 8 people attend an event at the Nature Center, host another event at PTA meetings, then another at the library. Proclaim what is the right thing to do, then respectfully defend it. LEAD. Take the small rudder, put tons of effort into it and turn the ship around. Don't grow weary doing good, but if there's anything amiss between what you say and what you do, take ownership!
-Hater
August 21, 2009 at 1:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Sidamo says...
And treat your employees (teachers) with respect and without favoritism. Allow them to respectfully voice their opinion to you without consequence and LISTEN to them - they're not idiots, many of them are brilliant with tremendous insight. Let each individual teacher know they are supported, then back it up with action! Do this repeatedly and you have 1600 votes off the bat! If you don't have your employees... who do you have?
-Hater
August 21, 2009 at 1:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
apmastrangelo says...
A big $500.00 impact fee toward the sewer fee. Too bad good business sense was not applied in assessing appropriate numbers to what the real cost of this expansion will be to the city.
It is good to see expansion and new developments but these ventures must contribute a more realistic portion toward the money the city is actually needing to expend in support.
Do all remember the debate over impact fees not being worth the funds collected?
August 21, 2009 at 2:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
StJoeMoe says...
Wow, where are all the high paying jobs for those people moving in?
August 21, 2009 at 3:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BillF says...
Please keep in mind the addition could have been built outside the city limits with no tax dollars in the future coming to the city. The developers met with city staff and several council members to annex the property into the city voluntarily. The city's part to get future tax dollars was to install a sewer line up to the property. This new sewer line would eliminate two sewage pump stations. Since the city did not have the funding in place to improve half of Cook Road when Carriage Oaks addition was being built, the improvements were not done. The TIF allowed the improvements to be done with Graystone helping to pay for it. In talking with one industry that we were trying to secure their expansion, housing was an issue. While in the short term the city will not see much financial benifit, in the long run it will. The impact fees were done away with because Graystone was the only development that it was going to effect without doing traffic studies all over St. Joseph. Plus if the impact fees were put into place over a larger city area it would effect any new business trying to relocate or move into the city. I hope this helps.
August 21, 2009 at 4:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pops says...
BillF,
What it tells ME is that basically the developer felt he had the city over a barrel..."either you play with us, or we'll take our 'toys' outside the city limits."
While I'm not sure what the alternative COULD have been, I very much dislike the city caving in to such pressure. Personally, I'd have told them to "take a hike". Let the county pay for their sewers. Let their kids go to county schools, etc.
August 21, 2009 at 5:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
apmastrangelo says...
Hi Bill - The rationale of why the city thinks this can be good in the long term is understandable. What is not justified is the overall cost to the taxpayers such projects have during a 5 to 10 year period waiting for them to hopefully materialize as projected.
As I stated earlier expansion and development such as this is a good thing but there is no effectively operating community not applying appropriate impact fees for development. The claim that the impact program was abandoned because "traffic" studies all over Saint Joseph, would have been needed is nothing more than an excuse to achieve the end result. If the city does not have a reasonable perception of all the cost factors involved as expansion occurs they should and are in need of serious reflection if not.
August 21, 2009 at 5:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thenfixit says...
illegal non-citizen workforce, cheap materials, yeah greystone is great for st joseph.
August 21, 2009 at 8:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
c0uchtime says...
Has the ten years started yet? At the current rate, it will be OVER 10 years from now before the project is complete, maybe even longer. Or are each of the pieces under a separate clock? Or each of the properties? This will make a whole lot of financial difference, or so it seems to me.
August 21, 2009 at 10:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )