Eastgate Lofts, the name given to the new apartment complex under development by Iola Industries, should be in place and ready for occupancy by late summer or early fall.
David Toland, speaking at a community meeting Tuesday about development projects at the old Allen County Hospital site, said construction of the apartments should begin in early May and will take about four to six months.
“They’ll probably start signing leases around July,” Toland said.
Toland and Jim Gilpin, who attended the meeting on behalf of Iola Industries, spoke extensively about the planned apartments and a G&W Foods grocery store.
Toland is the executive director of Thrive Allen County, which has been hired to provide economic development services for the city, county and Iola Industries.
The grocery store construction should begin in late May or early June, as soon as the hole marking where the old hospital was demolished is filled.
“You’d think filling in a hole is no big deal,” Toland said. “But it’s a complicated effort.”
Crews from Nelson Excavating will bring in layers of soil, which must be compacted and tested in short intervals..
“And it’s a massive hole to fill,” Toland said. “The good news is, the county commission signed the contract at 10 o’clock, and by 2 o’clock this afternoon, they were working.”
The apartment complex will be divided into two structures, a larger, 12-unit building on the west side of Second Street, over what essentially was the old hospital emergency room parking lot. The eight-unit building will be on the east side of second, over what was the employee parking lot.
All of the apartments will be two-bedroom units. Rent will be based on market rates, and should go for about $650 a month, Toland said.
Iola Industries agreed to purchase the land for the apartments because of what Toland described as a long-standing need for affordable, market-rate housing.
“Gates, in particular — depending on the time — draws employees from between 13 and 17 different counties to fill its labor pool in order to support its operations here,” Toland said. “Our industries need housing for their workers.”
Occupants will enter the apartments from the south. The apartments will have balconies facing the highway, Toland said.
Construction will be handled by Springfield, Mo.-based Tom Carlson, who built a series of income-based rental homes on what formerly was the Cedarbrook Golf Course in north Iola.
