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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

Posted on by dan

More workforce housing proposed for Lake Ozark

A housing developer with a track record of success in Lake Ozark wants to continue providing working class housing in the community.

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

The board of aldermen recently gave first-round approval of an ordinance adopting a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation to rezone 19 parcels of land along Fish Haven Road, Hickory Drive and Forest Hills Road. The rezoning would be from Manufacturing Home Park Residential and R-1 Low Density Residential to R-3 Multi-Family residential. Second reading is expected at the regular Aug. 25 board meeting.

The board also approved first reading of an ordinance rezoning property fronting Rt. 242 from R-1 Low-Density Residential to C-2 General Commercial at the request of Briscoe Ozarks Development Group. Ryan Fuller, representing McClure Engineering, said the development group does not have a specific client interested in the Rt. 242 property but wants to market the area as General Commercial to potential clients.

After final board approval, the next hurdle for the developer will be obtaining tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Commission which would help buy down the cost of the project. 

Deadline for applying for the tax credits is September with notification expected in December.

 

Workforce housing

Pete Ramsel, representing Briscoe, 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. 

“They are very, very affordable,” Ramsel said. “If people make too much money they can’t live there. There is no rental assistance. The difference between low-income housing and affordable housing is that these people live in the community, work in the community and pay rent.”

Fish Haven Apartments Phase 3 will offer units on a fixed income basis.

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.

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 first two phases have been great,” Ramsel said. 

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

Ramsel also noted that a million-dollar Community Development Block Grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development approved several years ago to build a regional lift station was another key factor in creation of the Fish Haven complex.