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City of Lake Ozark Awarded $300,000 Community Development Block Grant for Demolition Project: Lake Ozark, MO — The City of Lake Ozark has been named the recipient of a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Missouri Department of Economic Development to support a $433,030 building demolition project focused on improving safety and redevelopment opportunities in the Bagnell Dam Strip area. The remaining $133,030 required to complete the project will be provided to the City by the property owner, Reese Development. As a result of the grant award, 23 structures on and around the historic Bagnell Dam Strip will be demolished. All properties included in the project are owned by Reese Development. Among the structures slated for demolition is the former Shoreland Motel located on the Bagnell Dam Strip. Additional buildings included in the project consist of a series of residential and commercial structures located along Carls Drive, Ballenger Road, Thornsberry Road, Beach Drive, and School Road. These structures were determined eligible for CDBG funding due to their advanced state of blight and lack of structural safety, in accordance with adopted building codes. Several of the buildings contain asbestos and other environmental contaminants, and all have been formally certified by the City as dangerous buildings. Buildings were prioritized based on safety concerns, structural deterioration, and overall risk to the public. To qualify for the grant, each structure was required to have been vacant for an extended period of time. Demolition work associated with this project is expected to commence in 2026. “We are proud to partner with the City of Lake Ozark and the Missouri Department of Economic Development to continue the momentum of the last two years on the historic Bagnell Dam Strip,” stated Peter Colovos, Chief Operating Officer of Reese Development. “Brick by brick and block by block we are committed to redeveloping this jewel of the Midwest,” he added. Reese Development has invested more than $600,000 over the last two years in cleaning up the Strip and demolishing dilapidated structures. City Administrator Harrison Fry expressed appreciation for the state’s support:“We are grateful to the State of Missouri for recognizing the opportunity to breathe new life into the Bagnell Dam Strip corridor. This project begins by removing long-standing, dilapidated structures so that safe, meaningful redevelopment can move forward. I would also like to thank Reese Development for their cooperation and commitment to property revitalization, as well as grant writer Tonya Raines for preparing a successful application that made this project possible.” For more information, please contact the City of Lake Ozark.

TEST TW WEATHER

Fish Haven Phase 3 supported by resolution

The prospects for the next phase of an affordable housing complex in Lake Ozark got a huge boost when the board of aldermen recently approved a resolution of support.

City officials have thrown their support behind the construction of Phase 3 of Fish Haven North, an expansion of the existing affordable housing units along Fish Haven Road. Developers already have built a multi-unit affordable housing complex – Fish Haven Apartments – and a senior retirement center – Fish Haven Estates.

The proposed buildings would be located on 19 parcels of land on Fish Haven Road, Hickory Drive and Forest Hills Road. One of the proposed buildings would be located at Fish Haven and Hickory Drive. The second would be located on South Fish Haven just west of Fish Haven Estates.

The board also approved final reading of ordinances rezoning the area in question and a final plat for the subdivision at its Aug. 24 meeting.

What stands in the way now is the Missouri Housing Development Commission which is being asked to issue housing credits that would help subsidize the Phase 3 project. If those are approved, the project will go to the design phase and then will go out for bid – hopefully early next year.

Briscoe Ozark Development Group, developer of Fish Haven Apartments and Fish Haven Estates, is hoping to expand the footprint of affordable housing along South Fish Haven Road with two 20-unit complexes adjacent to Fish Haven Apartments. 

Pete Ramsel, representing Briscoe, has said that equity raised by selling the tax credits to investors is used to help buy down the cost of the project. Private equity will fund between 85 and 90 percent of the project with the balance borrowed. That helps keep the overall cost down, making the units more affordable to the public, he explained.

Ramsel said the two-bedroom units will rent for between $500 and $600, and the three-bedroom units will rent for $550-$650 per month. 

Phase 1 of the Fish Haven developments – Fish Haven Apartments – opened in early 2016. Fish Haven Estates, the senior living community across from the apartment complex, opened in early 2018 as Phase 2.

He also praised Briscoe Development Group and McClure Engineering, the engineer firm for all three phases, for their partnership in the projects.

 

Resolution

The resolution notes that Lake Ozark and its residents benefit from the availability of quality, affordable housing. But the city currently lacks that type of housing availability due to the economic growth of Lake Ozark and the growing population that has been attracted to the area.

Lake Ozark has been presented with a site plan and development plans for development of family housing units to be constructed to the north of the existing Fish Haven Apartments. 

City of Lake Ozark officials are aware that the developer is submitting an application to the MHDC for approval of its project as workforce housing, and the city supports the developer’s effortsw to bring such needed affordable housing to the community.