<div>With a shortage of available housing lots and growing concerns about affordability, the city of St. Charles is taking a more active role in residential development through its South Fork Community Development Initiative, a project officials hope will bring more than 120 housing units to the community. The city is preparing land in the South Fork neighborhood for a variety of potential housing options, including single-family homes, twinhomes, duplexes, townhomes and a possible apartment complex. The initiative is intended to make residential construction more attainable by having the city prepare the land and infrastructure before private builders and individual homeowners take over construction. The hope is for construction to begin in Spring 2027. St. Charles Community Development Coordinator Katrina Hurley said the city began considering the approach after recognizing that private development had stalled, in part, because of the expense of preparing land for construction. Hurley said that the Winona County Housing Study projected a need for between 130 and 220 additional housing units for St. Charles from 2022 through 2027, and that St. Charles had only added 37 to 39 units during that period. She said that the shortage of available lots has made it difficult for people looking to purchase homes or move into the community. “We don't want the lack of housing availability to be the reason why someone can't make St. Charles their home,” Hurley said.This May, the city purchased nearly 18 acres of land comprising the South Fork development area, situated along Highway 14, for $385,000 after exploring ways to encourage additional residential development. City Administrator Andrew Langholz said St. Charles has only a handful of available housing lots remaining throughout the community, prompting officials to consider developing lots themselves and selling them to builders or individuals interested in constructing homes. “We're trying to make this more like attainable lots, so we're not trying to make any extra money or anything from these. We're just selling the lots at cost to make sure we can bring more people into our community and let it flourish from there,” Langholz said.The city does not intend to build or own the homes. Instead, it plans to prepare the property, establish development requirements, and sell lots through a competitive process, after which builders would construct new homes. Hurley said the city originally hoped private developers would be able to overcome the costs associated with infrastructure, but officials eventually decided to take the initiative themselves. “Rather than waiting for the private developers to be able to overcome those barriers, we thought we might as well get ahead of this,” Hurley said. “Those developers can build the homes, and then they don't have to worry about the infrastructure costs.”The city plans to use requests for proposals (RFPs) to select builders for different portions of the development. An RFP is a formal document issued by a government agency, housing authority, municipality, or nonprofit organization seeking competitive proposals from developers, builders, or property managers for the construction, renovation, or management of housing projects. Development agreements and construction requirements will establish expectations for builders, including timelines and neighborhood design standards.Preliminary development plans identify three general housing-density areas which are low, medium, and high density. The current proposal includes 12 single-family lots, 50 potential medium-density housing units, and a possible apartment development with a maximum of 64 housing units, according to Langholz. He said the medium-density area could include twinhomes, duplexes, townhomes, and fourplexes, while the higher-density portion could have a market-rate apartment complex. “If the market does not support an apartment to come in, then we would just switch that lot over to medium density,” Hurley said.The city plans to release three separate RFPs which will include single-family housing, medium-density housing, and higher-density housing with the goal being to create a wider range of housing options. Langholz said that this development could provide opportunities for people moving out of their parents' homes, younger residents seeking apartments, and older residents who’d be looking to downsize.Hurley said the current target for completed single-family homes is approximately $325,000. Hurley said that one reason the city selected South Fork was the existing infrastructure already serving the area. She said that the property was purchased at a cost based on the infrastructure already in place, allowing the city to reinvest in existing public improvements rather than start from scratch. Water, sewer, and electricity are already available in the area and the city expects to expand an existing stormwater pond and construct a road, with relatively limited additional infrastructure work needed.Langholz said the purpose is not to profit from the land sales but to create opportunities for more and more residents to move into St. Charles. City officials believe that building more homes could strengthen the local economy, support schools, and help businesses recruit more employees. Hurley said businesses considering locating in St. Charles frequently ask whether the community has enough housing for their workforce.City leaders emphasized how the public has been involved throughout the planning process, including community surveys, focus groups, public hearings, and neighborhood meetings. At a community meeting on July 29, residents reviewed the preliminary South Fork concept and offered suggestions about the neighborhood's character and proposed park. Hurley said the city received feedback about housing designs, park placement, safety, and the appearance of the development that has shaped how the plan progressed. Hurley said that following the community input, the city made a couple of the changes to the preliminary plans, including rerouting a proposed bike path to avoid an intersection and considering a tree line near the park to provide additional separation from Highway 14. Mitch Walch, a former developer involved in South Fork, said developing housing in the area had presented challenges in the past. Developing South Fork has been a goal of the city for more than 20 years with plans changing and evolving over that time. Walch said he originally developed plans for 13 single-family homes and explored additional single-family housing opportunities and another mixed use project that could have included apartments. He said working through the development process with the city was difficult, particularly when trying to move forward with additional housing types. “We tried to build another phase, and they were very difficult to get anything through,” Walch said. Walch has owned the nearly 18 acres of South Fork since 2020, but said because of the challenges associated with developing the area with the city, he decided to sell the land to St. Charles this year. He is no longer directly involved in the project, but believes St. Charles needs additional housing and community involvement. “It just needs the community's input to create a harmonious environment,” he said. The city is moving through preliminary planning and mapping lots, with a public hearing before the Planning Commission scheduled for November 23, according to Langholz. The goal now is to complete the final development plan in early January 2027. Hurley said the city is looking toward releasing builder proposals in January, with the construction targeted for spring 2027.Hurley said the city hopes the project will turn conversations about growth into actual opportunities for people who want to live in St. Charles. “We're not talking about growth anymore,” she said. “We're actively working toward creating those opportunities for people who live in St. Charles and who want to move to St. Charles.”</div>

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With a shortage of available housing lots and growing concerns about affordability, the city of St. Charles is taking a more active role in residential development through its South Fork Community Development Initiative, a project officials hope will bring more than 120 housing units to the community. The city is preparing land in the South Fork neighborhood for a variety of potential housing options, including single-family homes, twinhomes, duplexes, townhomes and a possible apartment complex. The initiative is intended to make residential construction more attainable by having the city prepare the land and infrastructure before private builders and individual homeowners take over construction. The hope is for construction to begin in Spring 2027.

St. Charles moves forward with South Fork housing development

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With a shortage of available housing lots and growing concerns about affordability, the city of St. Charles is taking a more active role in residential dev

St. Charles moves forward with South Fork housing development

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