BROOKINGS — A new workforce housing development with plans for up to 160 dwelling units received approval for a tax increment financing district to help offset project costs at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

The new TIF district will cover the Branch Creek development on the south side of 20th Street South to the east of the Fishback Soccer Complex. The roughly 20-acre site will be built in five phases and, in time, will house a variety of homes, including single-family homes, twin homes and up to four, four-unit townhouses.

“Is there a hard timeline on when the development has to be done within this TIF agreement?” Councilor Andrew Rasmussen asked prior to the 5-0 approval vote. “Is there a set schedule for that?”

“Within the TIF agreement there’s not a hard deadline,” Deputy City Manager Jacob Meshke said. “With tax increment financing, it is to the developer’s benefit to develop as quickly as possible, because the longer they wait, the less increment that this would generate. There is a natural incentive … to develop these out as quickly as possible.”

It’s possible the development’s first units could be available for purchase by late summer or early fall, according to information presented at the meeting. That said, it’s contingent upon weather and the installation infrastructure in the area.

The project plan identified $9 million as authorized TIF costs that can be utilized for eligible expenses, such as streets, drainage facilities, site grading, water, sanitary sewers and more. For its part, the city committed to using a portion of the TIF for park and pedestrian/biking connectivity improvements.

Access concerns were also raised at the meeting by Councilor Bonny Specker. “Will there be more than one entrance into this, given the number of housing units?”

Meshke explained that the development will have two access points, one off of 20th Street South to the north, and the other coming in from east of the development.

Another councilor raised the issue of whether or not buyers would eventually be able to rent out their homes.

“Is there a deed restriction in the development agreement for the first buyer if they can rent it out or not?” Councilor Brianna Doran asked.

Meshke said there is no such language within the development agreement, but that there will be a housing association that will have additional requirements on the properties in question.

Ownership group representative Tom Fishback then stepped up to the podium and noted that, within the covenants that they’re putting into place, they’re not allowing individuals to rent homes within the Branch Creek development, and the intention is that it will apply to any owner.

“We want to make sure that they’re single-family residences for the entire neighborhood,” Fishback said.

Praise for the project came from multiple councilors leading up to the TIF vote, including Doran, Wayne Avery and Holly Tilton Byrne.

“I really appreciate the variety of housing plans and rates and options that are available,” Doran noted. “When you look at our housing study in 2022, it noted that various housing options were needed to provide movement across the housing market. When we look at this plan, it has the high density, it has mixed income and it creates a richer social and economic integration in this neighborhood. I’m really excited for this project.”

Avery shared similar thoughts. “It seems like a project that really goes along with what we’ve been trying to do as far as developing more workforce housing and more housing options,” he said. “It’s just a good project for everybody.”

Tilton Byrne supported the project’s effort and creativity. “It’s always exciting to see development for the community that is geared toward affordable housing, so I appreciate the efforts that have gone into this and the creativity behind it.”

Mayor Oepke “Ope” Niemeyer and Deputy Mayor Nick Wendell were absent from Tuesday’s meeting, and Avery attended via phone call-in.

— Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.