Marshfield Common Council Approves New Subdivision

Wednesday, May 12th, 2021 -- 10:00 AM

(WDLB) Marshfield aldermen are moving forward with plans to create a new subdivision, funded up front by the city.

With Alderman Peter Hendler voting "no", the Common Council voted 9-1 last night in favor of moving ahead with the concept, presented by Development Services Director Josh Miller.

Under Miller's proposal, the city would contribute 622-thousand dollars toward the startup costs, with the remaining 900-thousand dollars coming from the Economic Development Board. That money would be used to develop a 10-acre piece of property with room for approximately 23 lots.

The E-D-B would get its money back through the sale of lots, while the city's money would come back in the form of new property taxes.  Alderman Adam Fischer was all for it.

The individual lots would sell for 40-to-45-thousand dollars, and the average assessed value of each new home would be roughly 400-thousand dollars. Local realtor Ashley Fredrick told the Council that's exactly what a lot of people are looking for in Marshfield right now.

But it's not just the lack of housing that is hurting the city right now. Miller said it's also the number of buildable lots available.  Miller also told the Council the city has not seen a new subdivision in 13 years, and a number of people have not taken jobs in Marshfield because they couldn't find acceptable housing, or they've had to purchase a home outside the city.

The Council agreed to advance the subdivision plan, with a contingency that at least 12 of the available lots be pre-sold within the next month. If that threshold is met within the next two weeks, Miller said that would allow for the project to be put out for bids by the end of May.

He said the goal from there would be to get the infrastructure built this year, and open up lots for construction before winter. The city Council still has to finalize the acquisition of property for the new subdivision, which was the subject of a closed session held by the aldermen at the end of last night's meeting.

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