By Jason Arndt
Editor
A massive residential development near the Burlington bypass received unanimous approval on July 24 at a special Common Council meeting held in the conference room at the city’s Department of Public Works facility.
The unanimous approval, which came through a development agreement with Bear Real Estate Group, paves the way for one of the largest residential plans the city has seen in at least 20 years.
“This is one of the most important things to happen to the city in probably two decades,” said Mayor Jon E. Schultz II.
According to project plans, BREG SF Investments, LLC, commonly known as Bear Real Estate Group, proposes to build nearly 300 residential units on about 196 acres on the west side of Highway 83 in an area called Schaefer Farms as part of Tax Increment District No. 6.
Schaefer Farms, which sits directly west of the Burlington Manufacturing and Office Park, will include hundreds of residential units consisting of various sizes with an objective to retain existing residents, attract new residents and satisfy the need for more housing in the region.
Schultz, in an emailed statement to Southern Lakes Newspapers, said the development will help the city fund basic services through growth in its tax base because of state-imposed levy limits.
“I know some people may not like that, but we have no choice,” said Schultz, adding inflation grew higher than the city was able to raise the levy a year ago. “That’s unsustainable.”
The development, he added, would help ease housing shortages and costs because of new available units.
“Housing is outrageously expensive in Burlington and across the state, and the shortage of housing is very much a contributing factor in that,” Schultz said. “We’re in desperate need of more housing in the city, and this project is long overdue.”
The planned unit development for Schaefer Farms proposal consists of multi-phases, lasting about seven years and bringing in an estimated property build-out value of approximately $133,800,000.
Bear Real Estate Group, which reported the first phase would create at least $7.9 million in assessed value by Dec. 31, 2026, will receive financial assistance from the city for the purpose of funding site preparation costs and increasing infrastructure costs through Tax Increment Financing District incentives.
“The development will add a significant financial tax base to the city and is consistent with the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan,” City Administrator Carina Walters wrote in a memorandum to the Common Council.
The development includes a letter of credit issued the city to cover 120% of the total costs needed to complete construction of infrastructure improvements for each project phase.
“The security is to help ensure that the city has sufficient funds to pay the cost of the infrastructure improvements should the developer fail to complete such infrastructure improvements.”
Project plan
As part of the proposed residential development, Bear Real Estate Group plans to include a new public road access at South Pine Street along the north side of the project, according to city documents.
The access road will further connect to the south and create a second access point to South Pine Street through Liberty Drive in the Burlington Manufacturing and Office Park.
The developer looks to construct duplex condos (52 units), small-lot single-family housing (93), medium-lot single-family housing (131), and Estate lot single-family housing (10).
“We have a good history with Bear Development, so I’m excited they’ve chosen to dive into Burlington and execute this large project,” Schultz said. “We’re lucky to have a company both with local connections and that we’re familiar with.”
Bear Real Estate Group, along with new housing options, also plans to include more than seven acres of improved public open space and trail linkages as well dozens of acres composed of natural areas.
Additionally, the developer plans to install 637 trees, which meets the city’s requirements, as well as 24 more throughout the development.
“I’m really confident this will be successful, and I’m looking forward to seeing homes starting to pop up in the next year or two,” Schultz said.
Schultz estimates between 700 to 800 new people could come to the city with the new development.
“We’ll get some new people moving to town to these homes, but we’ll also get housing in the core of the city opening up as our residents move to this subdivision, finally opening up homes for sale in the heart of Burlington,” Schultz said.
Long discussions
The Common Council’s endorsement came after a series of discussions, including some in closed sessions, spanning more than a year.
On multiple occasions, Bear Real Estate Group also presented its plans in public meetings, including some outlining key details of the massive development.
“We’ve had so much exposure to this topic over the past year or so, and there were a few issues left to sort out by last week, and it all just went pretty quickly,” Schultz said.
Schultz said city officials had hoped to the see the project come to fruition earlier.
“I wish the process went faster than it did, but I think we’ve learned a lot and we’ll be stronger the next time something like this comes around,” he said.
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