A big piece of land on Eau Claire's northwest side that was once meant for industry is headed for houses instead.
On Tuesday, Sept. 22, the Eau Claire City Council approved the final plat for the first phase of Linden Hills, a new neighborhood in the Jeffers Park area. WQOW reported the development covers 48 acres off County Line Road. The station said future phases could add more housing, a tiny homes project, a senior living facility and green space.
How many lots, exactly
WQOW's story said 130 residential lots. That was the count on the preliminary plat, which also listed 44 rowhouses in 10 buildings. The final plat the council actually approved is a little smaller. According to the city staff report in the Plan Commission's Sept. 14 packet, Phase 1 has 108 residential lots and five outlots:
- 38 lots for single-family homes
- 48 lots for twin homes, in 24 buildings
- 22 rowhouses, in five buildings
Of the outlots, one is set aside for future rowhouses and one for future residential development that hasn't been defined yet. The other three are for stormwater.
The owner is CMJM Properties LLC, and Real Land Surveying submitted the plat. At the Plan Commission's Aug. 31 meeting, the applicants were listed as C&M Builders, Advanced Engineering Concepts and Real Land Surveying. Cody Filipczak of C&M Companies spoke in support and talked about the affordability the company is going for with this mix of housing types, according to the commission's minutes.
From industrial park to neighborhood
The staff report explains how this land came to be houses. The roughly 48 acres used to belong to the city and the Gateway Industrial Park Corporation, but the rolling ground wasn't a good fit for industrial buildings, so it was sold to the developer.
Getting here took a few steps in a short time. The Plan Commission unanimously recommended a comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning and approved the preliminary plat on Aug. 31. The council approved the plan amendment and rezoning on Sept. 8. The Plan Commission took up the final plat on Sept. 14, and the council approved it Sept. 22.
The city's conditions include recording the plat, approval of a Subdivision Infrastructure Agreement by the council for the public improvements, and meeting all of the remaining preliminary plat conditions. One earlier condition is a final tree preservation mitigation plan. Builders will also pay a residential park space fee for one- and two-unit homes when they pull building permits.
The zoning allows fairly compact lots. Single-family lots can be as small as 3,000 square feet and 50 feet wide, twin home lots 2,000 square feet per unit, and rowhouse lots 2,500 square feet per unit with a shared wall. Single-family homes and twin homes need a 20-foot front yard, while rowhouses can sit 10 feet back from the street. All three types need a 20-foot rear yard, and the attached units can share a wall right on the interior lot line.
Why it matters for Contractors
Smaller lots and attached homes are how builders try to bring the price of a new house down. For contractors, that changes the work in a few useful ways.
First, there's a lot of it. One hundred eight lots in Phase 1 alone, with more phases planned, is years of steady work for builders and the subs who follow them. Before houses go up, the Subdivision Infrastructure Agreement covers the public improvements: streets, utilities and stormwater. That's work for excavators, utility crews and paving contractors.
Second, twin homes and rowhouses mean common walls, so framers, drywall crews and insulation installers need to get fire separation and sound control right, unit after unit. Zero-lot-line side setbacks on interior walls leave little room for mistakes in layout.
Third, with the developer openly aiming for affordability, budgets will be tight, and every change order will get a hard look. Contractors who can work efficiently on repeated floor plans will have the edge.
If you want in, keep an eye on the city's agendas for the infrastructure agreement and future phases, and get to know the C&M team. With tiny homes and senior living floated for later phases, Linden Hills could keep Chippewa Valley crews busy for a while.