Story originally printed in the Holmen Courier or online at www.holmencourier.com
Published - Thursday, January 10, 2008
Building permit numbers tell a tale
It’s not just imagination. The average price of a newly constructed single-family home in the area has gone up — in some cases astronomically, especially in the city of Onalaska. A review of area building permits issued shows that and other trends in housing, commercial and industrial growth in the area.
The average value of a new single-family home in Onalaska increased 51 percent, from $225,714 to $339,853. In Holmen the average value increased by a modest 3 percent, from $153,275 to $157,74.1
Onalaska
While he anticipates commercial growth to slow in the coming year or so, Onalaska Land Use and Development Director Jason Gilman predicted strong demand to continue for single-family units.
“New plats are coming in from speculating developers that indicate we’ll continue to see continued single-family housing,” he said. He also said land east of Franciscan Skemp has been getting speculation.
In 2007, the city of Onalaska issued 392 permits valued at a total of $39.1 million in 26 different categories from garages and decks to single-family residential and commercial construction.
Gilman said commercial numbers appeared skewed over the last several years.
“In 2004, ’05, ’06 we saw the big clinic expansion,” he said. “That skewed the figures for commercial growth for those years.”
Grading and construction will begin for the French Valley development on 100 acres on the city’s east end north of Highway 16. The development will offer a wide range of housing options with 192 units all told. Plans call for 92 single-family homes and 100 multi-family homes in various configurations.
Elmwood Partners is proposing a traditional neighborhood development at the Meier Farm Addition along Highway 53. The area will be a mix of uses from multi-family along Sand Lake Road to twindos on the Pine Ridge Drive for occupancy by late summer 2008. The project also includes some businesses along Sand Lake Road.
A 14-unit condominium project is under construction along Pinecrest Lane and Rosewood Trail for completion in two to three years. The Barson Village Condominium project will include twindominiums and triplexes.
A 15-acre, $35 million development along Theater Road at Midwest Drive including a 12-screen movie theater will be introduced to the Onalaska Plan Commission in February.
“We’ll hopefully see growth, as well as continued expansion of the Gundersen Lutheran and Franciscan Skemp clinics, the downtown redevelopment tourism center and Highway 53 and 35 areas,” Gilman said.
But he doesn’t expect to see any major new development for senior housing or any manufacturing permit applications any time soon.
Holmen
Even though the average value of permits increased by 13 percent in 2007, Village President John Chapman is even more excited about the coming year. “I really expect to see a burst of commercial growth,” Chapman said. “There are some things on the radar which I am not at liberty to discuss, and the fact is we have more prime land available with utilities.”
Holmen issued 168 permits in 2007 for a total value of $17.3 million. The average price of a newly constructed single-family home in Holmen increased by 2.9 percent, from $153,275 to $157,741.
A commercial development was initiated later in the fall. Land owned by Steven Nicolai includes a 20-acre parcel just south of the Pizza Corral to be developed primarily into commercial properties, with multi-family structures along the perimeter, Chapman said.
“We also have the Brueske annexation to the north,” Chapman said. “That’s approximately 300 acres in the Highway 53 and 35 area. There (are) no utilities to that parcel right now, but we plan to get them there.”
All stories copyright 2006 Holmen Courier and other attributed sources.