Clear Lake City Council approves letter of intent for 95-unit apartment complex in Emerald Edge subdivision

One of the slides from a presentation by Hamilton Real Estate Group to the Clear Lake City Council on their proposed Emerald Edge apartment complex

CLEAR LAKE — The Clear Lake City Council Monday night approved a letter of intent with a southern Minnesota developer who plans to construct a 95-unit market-rate apartment complex as part of an eight-acre site in the Emerald Edge subdivision.

Chris Terry of Hamilton Real Estate Group of Rochester says the four-story building will have a mixture of living options. “We’re going to look at a four-story building with an L shape. We’re looking at 95 units. So we’ll have a mix of: 47 one bedroom-one bath, those tend to be the hot ones that go really quick we’ve learned over the years of the developments we’ve done; we’ll have 12 studios in there; 22 two bedroom and one bath; and 14 two bedroom and two bath.”

Terry says they are asking the city for three things as part of a request of support. “The rezoning to go from a commercial zoned property to multi-family residential. A variance in the height. I think the height restriction now is around 35 feet. We’re going to be 40-plus with that fourth story added and with the truss system. And then the 100% property tax abatement over ten years.”

Councilman Bennett Smith says the proposed project would greatly help address the need for market-rate housing in Clear Lake. “The greatest strategic need we have in our community is housing, and this type of project, 95 units in a really great location will just be a tremendous addition to our community. A really fantastic opportunity for Clear Lake.”

Hamilton anticipates commencing construction on the project before June 1st with a completion date by June 2025.