Southtown construction to resume soon

Spring has arrived, the snow has melted, and the ground is getting drier.

All those signs point to the resumption of construction at the new Southtown development in the southern part of Kalona.

'We're waiting for the mud to dry,” Adam Kos of developer CJ Moyna and Sons. 'We're ready to get going.”

Crews began working on the property last fall, getting it ready for the first phase of development.

Officially the Southtown area of Kalona, the 284-acre property will have multiple development areas.

The first phase of development is the North Ridge Subdivision, which consists of 64 lots on just over 56 acres with paved concrete streets with curb and gutter, as well as city water and sewer service.

Of those 64 lots, 51 are zoned single family residential, 10 are zoned R2, two-dwelling residential, and three lots are zoned for (multifamily residential.

Lot sizes range from a quarter acre to just under one acre.

They are also planning an area called Incline Grove Estates, with lots ranging from 2½ acres up to about 4 acres along the east side of the property.

Kos said that crews are ready to pick up where they left off in late November.

'We're in a good position to get going on the final grade for the streets and get the utilities in,” he said.

He said that work should resume in early April, weather permitting.

Kos said that the projected timeline calls for paving the streets in mid-to-late April, and the final seeding and lot pins put in place by late May.

'Hopefully, we can start pouring foundations in July,” he said. 'That's a pretty aggressive timeline.”

The development has already drawn a lot of interest from prospective homeowners.

'We've had a lot of people reach out to get their plans in place,” Kos said. 'A handful of folks have made commitments already.”

In addition to the residential component of Southtown, several recreational features are being developed.

The Washington County Conservation Board has been working with the developer to install nature trails on the property.

Kos said that the combination of aggregate surfaced trails and natural hiking trails should be available in late summer or sooner.

They are also working on fishing ponds that are expected to be open to the public in late summer. The ponds will be managed by conservation board.

A naturescape park and disc golf course should be ready by late summer.

The city of Kalona is working on a dog park on the property. Kos said construction on that could begin in late spring.

'There's going to be a lot of activity in 2021,” Kos said. 'It's going to be fun.”