Construction of Allen County’s new hospital on North Kentucky Street in 2012 made it a banner year for dollar value of new structures and upgrades in Iola.
Shonda Jefferis, Iola code enforcement officer, said value of building permits for 2012 totaled $19,246,286, with $17 million of that from the hospital’s construction.
Otherwise, construction was started on two houses and a multitude of other things, including residential additions, garages and utility improvements, pushing the year’s total to better than $19 million.
In 2011, with the economy just starting to emerge from recession, building permits totaled $5.65 million, with five houses totaling $2.7 million and a commercial permit accounting for $200,000. Many small projects, including utility tweakings, fortified the total.
This year has not had an auspicious start, although Jefferis said she had had a handful of inquiries and allowed it was a little early for much thought about construction with winter weather a possibility for another two months.
Iola’s housing stock would increase appreciably if expansion plans near Cedarbrook Golf Course materializes.
Tom Carlson, Springfield, Mo., developer, built 30 rental houses in 2009 and has told city officials he would build more if he could attract tax credits from the Kansas Housing Commission to support the project.
Tax credit funding for the initial group of houses will keep them in the rental market for 15 years, at the end of which Carlson will have the option of selling the properties. All are occupied and there is a waiting list, which without doubt prompted Carlson to look at another surge of building in the area.
Corey Schinstock, assistant city administrator, said 29 residential lots owned by the city were available nearby. Carlson paid $10,000 to secure an option to purchase the lots for $7,500 each. His option is in force until the end of 2013.
“That should give plenty of time for the KHC to decide whether to give him the tax credits,” which would determine how many lots Carlson may buy and develop, Schinstock said.
Bob Shaughnessy has shared plans to build a restaurant on land near the Walmart store, Schinstock added, but those plans have yet to be fleshed out.
ALL OF IOLA is now a Neighborhood Revitalization zone, which means residential or commercial development of $5,000 or more for improvements, additions or new construction, is eligible for property tax abatement.
The program’s three-year renewal began Nov. 1.
Information detailing what must be done is available at Jefferis’ office, 2 E. Jackson Ave.
Owners must pay taxes, which are refunded, 95 percent for the first five years and then in increments to end the abatement over the remaining five years. The initial refund is 95 percent rather than 100 percent because Allen County retains 5 percent of taxes paid for administration.
Carl Slaugh, city administrator, said during 2012 property assessed at $388,566 was enrolled in the program, meaning owners saved paying taxes of $13,950 after the 5 percent administration fee was taken out.
The program is designed to encourage improvements in blighted areas, but cities have the option of embracing all properties within their limits, which Iola did with its renewal.
BUILDING permits are required for more than just new construction, Jefferis noted, and said the better approach was for anyone building anew or making any improvements or upgrades to properties to check in at her office beforehand.
Building codes affect much of what’s done to a home or business and part of Jefferis’ role is to ensure that improvements and construction are done in a safe manner and meet building codes, which are in place to protect the value of nearby properties.
She noted that permits are needed for construction of fences, any renovations that result in changes to a structure, including removing or altering walls and windows that might be considered load-bearing, air-conditioning and heating upgrades, new roofs and improvements in electrical and plumbing systems.
She and her assistant, Clint Johnson, also keep an eye out for code violations. This week, for example, they dealt with chimneys connected to wood-burning stoves that had been added to the exteriors of homes.
