Town houses may serve as model for Rapid City housing market

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Rapid City’s block of new tiny town houses may serve as a model in the housing market.

Mayor Steve Allender, a private developer and the nonprofit Neighborworks Dakota Home Resources have been working together on plans to build a block of five small town homes just north of Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, the Rapid City Journal (https://bit.ly/2hwo6Te ) reported.

The mayor said he has an advisory role in the project and will help to overcome planning and zoning hurdles for the construction of new homes.

The homes will range in size from 360 square feet to 968 square feet, and they will have attached garages.

Allender said the homes are expected to be move-in ready by the summer of 2017. The town homes will only be up for sale to people who plan to live in them.

“They will be nice-looking homes that will be a boost to the neighborhood,” Allender said.

He added that the city needs to build homes that are “well below the market standard for rentals, but the living standard and upkeep are above the market standard.”

Developers are looking into using Community Development Block Grants or tax increment financing to lower the cost to the homeowners, Allender said.

According to the mayor, market price could range from a little more than $100,000 to as high as $142,000

Developers are hoping the new homes can serve as a model for hundreds more.

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Information from: Rapid City Journal, https://www.rapidcityjournal.com