Editor's Note: This story has been clarified regarding the tax abatement breakdown.
WORTHINGTON — Lloyd Companies intends to construct 49 housing units on the GreatLIFE Golf Course in Worthington, including a combination of one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as studio apartments. The housing project will only slightly impact the 18-hole golf course.
The first phase of the project will see the construction of the housing complex, with the second phase to include construction of a new clubhouse and pro shop. Both will be located directly west of the current clubhouse and fitness center.
Lloyd Companies Project Development Manager Luke Wietgrefe said the goal of the project is to provide new, market-rate housing in the city.
“I think it’s huge for Worthington,” he said of the project. “If you look online now, there’s not a lot of market rate apartments in Worthington. A lot of them are income restricted or low-income housing and there’s also not a lot of newer buildings in Worthington. I believe the last market rate project was built over 10 years ago. I think having something new in Worthington would be a huge win.”
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At an estimated cost of $10 million, Wietgrefe said the Minnesota Workforce Housing Development Program will provide funding for the project.
“(Minnesota Workforce Housing Development Program) targets smaller communities and Worthington is in that 13,000 population range, which is really what that program is targeting,” Wietgrefe said. “They also target smaller communities outside of the Twin Cities metro and southwest Minnesota is a good fit because there’s a lot of those smaller towns and communities.”
If the funding is approved by the state in August, the city will be awarded the funds in August. In addition to the state grant, Wietgrefe said they would receive $1 million from the Worthington Economic Development Authority and a five-year property tax abatement through the Nobles Home Initiative (Nobles County, ISD 518 and the city of Worthington). The total tax abatement is estimated at approximately $560,000 based on an estimated taxable market value of $8 million.
Worthington City Planner Matt Selof said the program would require further funding from the city of Worthington through matching funds. Lloyd Companies’ request for $1 million in matching funds was approved by the Worthington City Council at its April 8 meeting.
“That program does require matching funds from the city,” Selof said. “That was a large piece of the request. We match the funding that they’re asking for from the state. We have to put in a dollar for every two that they request from it. There are some things that can apply to that match, tax abatement can factor into what our dollar amount is. It’s not just straightforward cash.”
I think it’s huge for Worthington. If you look online now, there’s not a lot of market rate apartments in Worthington. I think having something new in Worthington would be a huge win.
Golfers can rest assured the course will remain an 18-hole course during and after the building’s construction.
“I believe they said that they will have to rework the configuration of a couple holes," Selof said. "What they’re proposing is right around the current site where their clubhouse and stuff is. The impact will be pretty minimal to the course as a whole so they will still maintain 18 holes there.”
Selof agreed with Wietgrefe that the project would be an excellent project to address Worthington’s housing shortage.
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“It means somewhere to live,” Selof plainly said on the importance of the project. “We’re in a huge housing shortage. The biggest shortage we have is market rate rental housing, apartments, townhomes — just places to rent. This would provide a number of units that would be available for rent.
"For people in town, it might provide a newer place to move or it might just provide another option that they can choose from," he added. "If you’re moving to town ... you might have somebody that would maybe move into this facility. The more housing you can get built, the more choices you have and the more jobs you can really sustain here.”
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