New London ready to incentivize residents to build in South Pine subdivision

NEW LONDON - The New London City Council approved a purchase agreement to incentivize the construction of housing for the residential subdivision on South Pine Street.

Approved during the Tuesday, April 2, meeting, the purchase agreement enables anyone buying a plot of land to receive $10,000 back from the city if they complete the home within one year of starting construction and before two years has elapsed from purchase.

'It's got to be ready to move into,” said council member Dan Berner. 'I think it's an incentive to get moving, get a house on there and get going.”

To develop the housing for this subdivision, the city will have to take out a loan, though the amount of that loan has yet to be determined. This incentive to increase the tax base is meant to help pay off that loan more quickly.

According to Howard, the first 10 years of property taxes for residents in the subdivision would go exclusively to the city, rather than being split between other entities such as the school district. During the meeting, the council discussed pursuing a five-year extension, which would allow them to collect these property taxes over 15 years instead of 10. For this the council must get permission from the school district and the county.

When houses do eventually go up, they will not have traditional mailboxes located directly outside the respective buildings. According to Howard, the post office would not allow standard mailboxes

'I think they're trying to streamline the mail delivery process,” said Howard. 'They really wanted a cluster (of mailboxes).”

The plan is to cut out a section on one of the lots and use it as a space to hold mailboxes for residents of the subdivision. Before this can be finalized, Howard will have to get approval from the Postmaster General.

The council also discussed appraising the value of the lots. Building the subdivision is a four-phase project intended to add roughly 10 new homes per phase, though details of price and timeline have yet to be ironed out.

'(The lots) haven't been appraised yet,” explained city clerk Kasi Howard. 'The city can't sell something for less than its value.”

To determine this value, three companies will be brought in to give appraisals. Fraise Auction & Real Estate from New London and Steffes Group Inc. and Cottage Realty both from Mt. Pleasant, will be brought in to assess the property.

The next meeting of the New London City Council will be May 7.