The Salina City Commission held a public hearing on a new housing development in town.
Magnolia Pointe is staged to be built at the corner of E Magnolia and the southwest corner of Interstate 135. It is a 10.68 acre project, north of Menards and east of the Fairfield Inn. An approximate address is 800 Virginia Court.
Lauren Driscoll went on to say that the lot is within city limits. However, it is zoned as commercial property. The Planning Commission approved conditional use permit to allow for multi-family use.
A club house with outdoor pool would be one of the amenities for the 6 3-story apartment buildings, each containing 28 dwellings.
96 1-bedroom apartments will be available with an anticipated monthly lease rate of $900. Square footage will be a minimum of 850.
66 2-bedroom units will be available with an anticipated monthly lease rate of $1,100. Square footage will be a minimum of 1,000.
6 3-bedroom units will be available with an anticipated monthly lease rate of $1,325. Square footage will be a minimum of 1,200.
288 total on-site parking spaces by way of covered and uncovered will be constructed.
Perry Reid Properties is the established developer for this project. They currently own and operate Chapel Ridge Apartments and The Reserves at Prairie Glenn. It should be noted that the latter two properties are income based apartments, while Magnolia Pointe will not be. It is also helpful to know that, according to Driscoll, Chapel Ridge and Prairie Glenn are recently new accusations for Perry Reid.
Tom Houston, General Council for Perry Reid, informed Commission that the Pointe will be comprised of 168 dwellings.
"We are really excited about this site, to build here," Houston spoke. "We feel there's a lot of commercial activity down along Magnolia. The location of this site in conjunction with the university campus and airport, and the fact that it's in the City limits, we think it's a prime target for multi-family property."
The hope to start construction in November hinges on engineering plans being complete. If a mild winter graces us, that's also a starting goal. However, it is more likely for the project to begin April 1, 2022.
The first building should be complete and ready for occupancy in February, 2023. It is anticipated that other buildings will follow suit by a month or two.
Mayor Hodges brought up Perry Reid's current investments within Salina, specifically Chapel Ridge. "Last time Perry Reid was before the Commission I asked about investments being made in properties you currently own here in Salina. We do receive complaints about the living conditions in the building."
Tom Houston was taken aback at this. He stood firm in saying that that Perry Reid is proud to reinvest in their properties, and Chapel Ridge is no exception.
Eric Brown, CEO of Salina Area Chamber of Commerce is in favor of this project. "The Chamber supports moving forward with this."
Mitch Robinson, executive director of Salina Community Economic Development Organization, seconded the support of the Chamber.
Chad Farber thanked city staff for the work put into this project. He also felt that comparing Magnolia Pointe to Chapel Ridge is unnecessary.
Commissioner Hoppock thanked Perry Reid for being an out of town developer so eager to invest in Salina.
In the end, the motion passed to issue IRBs, or Industrial Revenue Bonds, 3-1. Mayor Hodges was the lone nay vote, while Commissioner Davis was not present.
