City administrator Terry Cox said a total of 79 lots are now available to the public for housing, long considered a need in the city. The area is especially suited for low to moderate income housing, and besides local inquiries, Cox said there even has been interest from developers outside the area who may build a number of houses in the development.
"The need is definitely there," said Cox. "We don't have much housing for the low to moderate income price range. That's what we were looking at when we first started developing the area, and now it's finally come to completion."
It was back in February of 2007 that the Harlan City Council signed off on preliminary designs for the community's newest housing development. The city had in 2006 purchased approximately 40 acres of land from Gale Vandenberg, at a cost of $200,000, and began preparing for the $2.76 million project that eventually saw the area developed into housing lots for workforce housing.
City officials said at the time the venture to develop the property is one of the only ways the area will see affordable housing.
The city sold $3.815 million in general obligation bonds in July of 2007 to finance a number of projects in town, which included monies for the Dye Street project. The land was graded, and streets and sewer work began. All utilities, including gas, water, electric, phone, fiber optics and sewer are included at the site.
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The project was hoped to be completed a year ago, but the city experienced some delays. According to Cox, the grading contractor who was doing much of the dirt work went bankrupt.
"So then we had new people to work with," said Cox. And Harlan's project was tiny compared to others on the new contractors' agenda. "They have bigger projects, so we were the little guy," Cox said.
Other delays came in the form of fixes in the sewer work, where some gaps began to show. Contractors are placing a plastic lining in some of the sewers to make sure they flow correctly without any leaks.
Also slowing down the project was the city's decision to acquire a property along with a north Harlan mobile home park near the Dye St. project that had become dilapidated. The property was cleaned up and now allows for a nice visual entrance into the Dye St. development from the east. It also allows for additional housing units on the east side of the project.
Despite the delays, city officials are thrilled that the project has finally come to fruition. With new jobs and residents coming to Harlan, the Dye Street project allows for the needed housing availability.
Said Cox, "We are doing this because there is no other place to build a house like this in the city. There are expensive lots around, but we are looking for low to medium income housing as well."
Hopes are to sell at least four lots per year. Developed properties are being expected to sell between $100,000-$130,000. Costs to Harlan property owners will be minimal, city officials said. The Dye Street project is hoped to be self-sufficient with the sale of lots offsetting the costs of construction.
"You can now buy a lot through the City of Harlan, or you can go through a realtor," said Cox.
Harlan has always been a leader in such projects, said Cox, and this one is no exception. Already there are other communities asking how it can be done.
"Other cities are looking at it and what we've done," said Cox. "They want to see how we do it."
