More duplexes slated for ‘Campus Town’

By Phil Cobb | October 14, 2015 |

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Two more aging houses will soon be demolished near Northwest Missouri State University in order to make way for a pair of new duplexes. More than a half-dozen such developments have been completed over the past three years inside the so-called “Campus Town” overlay district, where eligible property owners can qualify for the Campus Town Redevelopment Incentive Program. Usually referred to as CTRIP, the initiative allows for the waiver of debris disposal and construction fees. The latest structures slated for demolition under the initiative are located at 511 W. Fourth St. (pictured) and 507 W. Fifth St.

A trend toward more rental housing construction in neighborhoods east of the Northwest Missouri State University campus continued to pick up steam this week.

Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel told the City Council on Monday that two new proposed developments have been approved under the municipal Campus Town Redevelopment Incentive Program, which waives various fees for landowners who tear down substandard housing and replace it with new apartments and duplexes.

A total of eight CTRIP projects have been completed to date, embracing an eightplex, a fourplex, and six duplexes.

Soon to be added to that list will be two more duplexes at 511 W. Fourth St., currently the site of a two-story house that was damaged by fire late last month, and 507 W. Fifth St., a structure that McDanel said was “nearing the definition of substandard.”

The Fourth Street property, owned by Hubert Gumm, is slated for new construction requiring $200,000 in private investment. Work at the site has an estimated completion date of Feb. 1.

The Fifth Street property, owned by Darin Loe, will require an estimated $250,000 in private investment with construction to be completed sometime in June.

Adjacent real estate adjoining the Loe property to the west was the site of one of the original CTRIP projects, which led to the removal of two derelict homes and five dilapidated house trailers — precisely the kind of neighborhood renewal the program was designed to accomplish.

The CTRIP process allows landowners and potential developers working within the Campus Town zoning overlay district to submit an application and development plans that, if approved by the city, result in the waiver of demolition debris “tipping fees” at Maryville’s solid waste transfer station as well as all permit fees associated with new construction.

Applications are considered in light of a number of factors, including condition of existing structures, quality of the redevelopment plan, tax base impact, and improvement to the overall appearance of the neighborhood.

Approved applicants must sign an agreement stating that they will demolish existing structures within three months and begin new construction within 12 months.

The Campus Town overlay district was created in 2012 and designated in the city’s comprehensive plan as an area suitable for “infill and redevelopment” in the form of high-density rental housing.

The overlay — a term for an area to which special zoning restrictions or exceptions apply — comprises about 40 blocks generally east of the Northwest campus and stretching north to south from Twelfth Street to just north of Second Street and east to west from Main Street (excluding downtown) to the university.

According to city figures released earlier this year, CTRIP, which was established in April 2013, has resulted in nearly $25,000 in new annual property tax revenue and $1.9 million in new appraised value on $3.3 million worth of construction.

As of last February, waived city permit and demolition fees over the previous two years totaled just over $28,000.