Although it is still in the planning stages, one of the state’s larger real estate companies has identified Annandale as a prime location for a nearly 100-unit apartment complex.
INH Properties, with headquarters in Waite Park, has worked up designs for up to two apartment buildings south of downtown, according to company and city officials.
The property consists of approximately six acres of land on Pintail Drive, just east of County Road 5 and a half-mile south of Highway 55 and downtown Annandale.
Brittany Lindberg, regional property manager for INH Properties, said that the company even has a name in mind for its Annandale location: Pintail Ponds.
"The view the residents would get would be absolutely stunning," she said.
Lindberg confirmed that its plans call for 96 units, to be built in two phases. The first building would house 60 rental units, and when 85-percent occupancy is achieved, a second building could be built.
This is welcome news for city officials.
"It’s definitely needed," Annandale Mayor Dwight Gunnarson said. "They’re market-rate apartments, which means they’re not low-income apartments at all."
He speculated that rents would fall between $750 and $1,100 per unit.
"We don’t have that option in town, and it would fill a void in our housing market," Gunnarson said.
Annandale City Administrator Kelly Hinnenkamp agreed, saying this was something that was identified a few years ago.
"Our 2014 housing survey showed that this was our strongest need – market-rate residential," she said.
She called the proposal very preliminary, with the city still awaiting the initial steps of submission of a concept plan and a zoning application. The process will also involve at least one public hearing.
Looking at 2019
INH Properties has grown from its inception in 1981 to overseeing 83 residential and 25 commercial properties across Minnesota. It is approaching 6,000 multi-family residential and commercial units under its management, Lindberg said.
Of its rental properties, INH classifies 58 as market-rate housing (no subsidies), with most of the rest deemed as affordable housing (use of a tax subsidy requires providing below-market rents for low-income people, persons with disabilities and/or seniors).
Four more apartment complexes are in the works for 2018: Sauk Centre and Owatonna in the spring, Avon next summer and Cold Spring next fall.
Considering that it takes from 13 to 15 months to build the type of apartment building INH Properties is planning, Lindberg said that would put the earliest it could open in Annandale at 2019.
"We would not be breaking ground most likely until early spring," Lindberg said when asked about an expected timetable. "We still have a market study that needs to be completed."
She said an undisclosed building owner who employs INH to manage multiple buildings brought this idea to them, and also credited Hinnenkamp for making something happen.
"Annandale has a need for it, and the space and land," Lindberg said, adding that from four to six acres are typically required for these types of complexes. "They wanted to go outside of St. Cloud, somewhere where the corridor traffic was pretty good."
INH Properties is a major rental operator in St. Cloud, managing 16 apartment complexes within the city limits and another five in surrounding towns.
In fact, Lindberg cited an apartment complex in St. Cloud as being a model for what Annandale can expect. Rosewood in the Park apartments, situated just west of St. Cloud State University and south of downtown St. Cloud, opened this past July.
"It is essentially built to the same theme," she said, and offers many similarities. But there will be differences, and plans for Pintail Ponds call for the complex to utilize more of a U-shaped structure.
"We have studio (apartments) up to two-bedroom, two-bathroom units with dens, and a lot of different floor plans," Lindberg said.
Rosewood in the Park offers patios and balconies for its units, with high-speed wi-fi, heat, water/sewer and garbage included in the rent. Tuck-under and detached garages are available for a monthly fee. Some other apartments managed by INH toss in complimentary cable service.
Rental prices and what would be included have yet to be established for the Annandale property, Lindberg said.
Standard amenities often include: microwave; dishwasher; washer/dryer; walk-in closets; barbecue grill; fitness center; community room with couches and a large-screen television; and game room equipped with billiards and foosball tables; plus on-site management.
Lindberg added that they put an emphasis on safety and security at their properties by screening applicants, and by use of controlled access doors and security cameras.