Sauk Prairie School District land sale approval coming soon, contract terms updated

The Sauk Prairie School Board will vote on June 12 whether to proceed with the ambitious land sale and development project proposed a few weeks ago. The $2.2 million dollar sale of District land near the Sauk Prairie Hospital Campus will be turned within two years into around 350 housing units. 114 of those will be available for rent at or below marking price. 180 will rent at market rate, and there will be 60 condominiums. At their last board meeting two weeks ago, the board heard from Superintendent Jeff Wright about the proposed project, and viewed a brief video.  The original agenda for the meeting indicated the board would vote to approve on May 22. However, Wright explained that small changes to the contract between the developers and the district led to the delay to the next meeting. The changes concerned on how the district would be paid for the land. Wright’s update at Monday’s meeting supersedes the Frequently Asked Questions posted to Facebook by the district earlier in the week. Previously, the district was to be paid $1.5 million at closing, and $700,000 at a 6 percent interest rate paid back in four years or fewer. Now, the district will receive the full $2.2 million at closing. With the changes, if the project fails, the district still has been paid for the property and is not left in line for debt repayment behind a bank or other entity. The district’s Frequently Asked Questions on Facebook addressed, among others, the following:   What is the District getting for the land? $2.2 million paid to the District at closing Two apartments provided to the District at no cost (other than utilities) for 10 years. These could be rented to staff or could house a visiting teacher/artist in residence/etc. These funds will be placed in a Fund 49 account and cannot be spent on salaries or programs. (Spending on programs would not be allowed by state statute and would negatively affect the amount the District gets in state aid as determined by the funding formula set by the State of Wisconsin.) The interest-earning account will help position the District for long-term land purchases and other capital projects.   Tell me more about what “Below Market Rate” means. Sauk Prairie needs housing of all kinds. A housing study completed by Sauk County identified the greatest need in Sauk Prairie to be high-quality apartments for essential workers, young professionals, etc. and condominium housing similar to that in the Risley Oaks/Risley Court development off of PF/Prairie Street near the Highway 60 bridge in Prairie du Sac. This development focuses on these two types of housing. “Below Market Rate” housing in this development is not low-income housing – although more low income housing is certainly needed in our region. Rents in this part of the development are set several hundred dollars lower than rents for comparable rentals in our area – especially for new construction with in-unit laundry. The starting rents are: a studio at $850, a one bedroom apartment at $1,050 and a two bedroom apartment at $1,250. Rents are scheduled to increase at minimal levels and are set for 10 years after opening as part of the developer’s agreement with the District.   Can the School District handle an influx of new students? Yes. Recent construction projects have positioned the District for the future with additional classrooms built as part of both the 2014 and 2020 referendum projects. That being said, the District does not anticipate that the construction of these apartments will lead to a large increase in students – as with similar apartments in our region, the units will more likely house people without children, with very young children, or with few children. An increase in school-aged children will more likely be the result of families moving into the condo units or families without children/with adult children selling their Sauk Prairie homes to move into the condo units – thereby opening up an existing Sauk Prairie home for purchase by a family with children.   Who are the developers? The developers (HC Properties) are a combined effort by three independent construction firms that have pooled resources to build and manage apartments and homes in the greater Madison area. In Sauk Prairie, HC Properties already owns and manages a multi-story commercial and residential building along the river in Sauk City. In addition to their housing company, one of the partners owns an HVAC company, another an earthwork and landscaping company, and the third a flooring company.   Doesn’t the District need this land? No. The original thought when the District purchased this land was to buy additional land near it in the future. These parcels are no longer available due to the hospital’s relocation and the new park. Additionally, the District chose to build Bridges Elementary at Broadway and 13th Street instead of using this parcel and decided to renovate the existing high school instead of building a new one on empty land. The decision to renovate instead of building a new school saved the District millions of dollars since a new high school would need all of the items (like the auditorium, library, gyms, cafeteria, classrooms, etc.) that the current building has. The renovated high school will continue to be Sauk Prairie’s high school for generations to come.   What is the development timeline written in the agreement between the developers and the District? By no later than April 1, 2026, developer shall have constructed at least 90 workforce apartment units The developer shall construct at least 60 market value condominium units no later than December 31, 2028 with the first five lots constructed and sold by April 1, 2026 and the remaining units constructed in phases based on sales.   What is the total cost of the development? The developers anticipate a $71,000,000 total investment in the project.