BY ALICIA FEYERHERM
Tiger Media Network
Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams provided an update on the Tallgrass Development at Thursday’s City Commission meeting.
The Heart of America Tallgrass Development was completed in phases. Phase One had 36 lots, Phase Two had 18 lots and Phase Three had 12 lots.
Heart of America developed the lots and then sold the lots to builders. Williams emphasized that the development would not have been possible without Heart of America selling the lots below cost.
“They (Heart of America) really are the unsung heroes of this development,” Williams said. “No other private developer ever would have made that kind of decision.”
Of the 66 lots, Homes by Cornerstone built 40 homes, Platinum Group built 21 and PWC built 5.
“Every house they built out there sold before it was done,” Williams said.
The demographics of the buyers included 27 first-time home buyers, 17 individuals new to Hays, 15 upsize/downsizers, and investors bought six homes.
“Homeowners add to and stabilize a workforce,” Williams said. “Homeowners tend to stay in a community as opposed to being more likely to leave.”
The development was approved as a Rural Housing Incentive District, a program that allows cities to use the new property taxes from a housing project to reimburse developers for streets, water, and other infrastructure.
“RHIDs are an invaluable tool to try and incent a developer to do this,” Williams said.
Williams does acknowledge that the City has to take on some responsibilities, such as police, fire, and EMS services for lots that are not paying city property taxes, but the benefits outweigh those incremental costs. Before development, the lot was only paying $127 in property taxes.
Commissioner Mason Ruder also noted that the majority of the funds for fire and police are paid through sales taxes rather than property taxes.
“The benefits and some of the public safety equipment is funded by a levy, but yes, the majority of expenditures are from sales tax,” City Manager Toby Dougherty said.
Williams said that some may see RHIDs as a cost to taxpayers.
“The only way you could ever make the argument that it costs the taxpayers more money than they receive back is to assume it’ll happen anyways,” Williams said.
The reality is that without these incentives, the development wouldn’t occur. The Tallgrass Development was platted back in 2001.
“So it sat for 20 years, ready to go, and nothing happened,” Ruder said.
Continuation of these incentives is vital to continuing the development of much-needed housing.
“At this point in time, I just can’t see many developers wanting to do something without an RHID,” Williams said.
Mayor Sandy Jacobs applauded all who worked together to make the Tallgrass development possible.
“There were so many pieces in this and the development that is happening in this community would not have happened in any other way,” Jacobs said.
Other items from the meeting included:
- Approval of an ordinance authorizing the City to issue General Obligation Bonds, Series 2025-A, to fund Advanced Metering Infrastructure, the Police facility, and The Grove RHID.
- Approval of an ordinance authorizing the City to issue Taxable General Obligation Bonds, Series 2025-B, to fund an economic development grant.
- Approval of a resolution authorizing issuance and prescribing the form and details of the city’s General Obligation Temporary Notes, Series 2025-1, to temporarily finance infrastructure and improvements to the I-70 Exit 161 property.
- Approval of a bid from Morgan Brothers Construction Inc. to expand the passenger parking lot at Hays Regional Airport, funded through the Airport Improvement Fund.
- Approval of rezoning for the Lincoln School Apartment Complex
The next City Commission meeting will be at 4:00 p.m. on September 11 at City Hall.
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