New home building continues in Tea

Tea planning and zoning administrator Kevin Nissen said new home building permits in 2017 were four less than 2016.

In 2016 they issued 41 building permits and 37 in 2017. He estimated that new home building permits were spread about evenly over three or four housing developments.

More homes were built in the High Pointe Estates Addition by the high school, in the Artisan Addition east of Sunshine, in Howling Ridge on the north end of town and in the Boulder Addition on the south end of town.

Looking ahead to this year, Nissen expects new home building will continue.

“I’ve had a lot of concept plans or initial development plans where people bring in big chunks of land on where they’re going to layout the roads and stuff. I’ve had three of those come in that were residential in 2017,” Nissen said. “With that being on the table, I imagine in 2018 they’ll start getting roads built and getting stuff ready for lots.”

Nissen appreciates the steady number of homes year after year lately. It allows for steady growth of infrastructure.

“We’ve been really consistent over the last five years with about 40 new homes a year and that’s where we like to be. We like to be consistent in growth and not have a real big spike because we’ve got infrastructure to get in, we’ve got streets to put in and sewer to put in and make these areas ready for development,” he said. “It’s good to have this modest growth and not have 200 homes in one year pop up and the impacts on the schools and stuff like that.”

He noted the new elementary school coming in 2019 on the south end of town could expand the number of homes in the Boulder Addition. He thinks once roads and utilities go in that area will take off.

In 2017, they had about $900,000 worth of commercial and industrial building permits with Lauriebelle’s and an industrial building in the Carl Soukup Addition.

In 2018, one developer will expand Main Street on the north end. The city has a big street project with the 271st Street project. That project was slated to go to bid this week. The hope is to have that project wrapped up by November. The project includes putting in a new stoplight with new signals and senors.

“It’s a two-lane rural section road right now and it’ll be converted to basically a three-lane urban section with curb and gutter and sidewalks, utilities, sewer and water,” he said.