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Work Begins On Trophy Lake Estates
The path some housing developments take from start to finish can be very smooth. Trophy Lake Estates IV in New Germany is not one of those projects.
Developer Grant Hustad, along with some family members, friends, investors, and representatives from the City of New Germany participated in a groundbreaking ceremony July 28. The event was an occasion marked by both excitement and relief.
Hustad first approached the New Germany City Council in May 2007 to discuss his proposal for a gated community built around man-made lakes designed for water sports.
In addition to powerboats for water skiing on the private lakes, the development will include a club house, tennis courts, walking paths, sand volleyball, and a basketball court.
Most areas in the lakes will be about six feet deep, but some areas will be up to 14 feet deep to provide fish habitat. The lakes will be stocked with walleye, bass, and yellow perch. Residents will be able to fish in the lakes, and the DNR will harvest fish eggs to stock other Minnesota lakes.
Both Hustad and the council have learned a lot since that first meeting in 2007.
Hustad had built three similar projects (Glenwood, Pine Island, and Chisago County), but all of these are located outside of the seven-county metro area, and were not subject to the same regulations as projects within metro counties.
New Germany was in the process of updating its comprehensive plan, and this had to be approved by the Met Council.
Trophy Lake Estates is an upscale project with very low density. In order for this to fit the city’s comprehensive plan, the city had to add some higher-density housing in other areas to offset the Trophy Lake project.
Another hurdle was the fact that the 160-acre property was located in Hollywood Township, and had to be annexed into the city.
This led to the city negotiating orderly annexation agreements with both Hollywood and Camden Township.
Yet another obstacle that limited Hustad’s ability to move forward was the fact that the property is in agricultural reserve until February 2009. He can begin grading and site preparation for the lakes, but no roads or infrastructure can be built until after February.
Another challenge that affected not only Trophy Lake Estates, but all development in New Germany, is the city’s sewer system, which is near capacity.
The city engineer has developed plans for infrastructure improvements to bring sewer and water connections to the Trophy Lake site. The city is also working with Met Council on a plan under which the city would build a new wastewater treatment plant, and then turn it over to Met Council. The Met Council would then take over debt service and operation of the plant, and bill the city as it does for other plants in the Met Council system.
There are still many things that need to happen before the project is complete, but the groundbreaking ceremony provided a sense that, at least for now, things are moving forward.
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