Hamlet officials continue exploring ways to boost housing development, such as employing the help of companies like New Home Construction in Eugene.
The town council is working on getting a home built on a piece of town-owned land at Lincoln and Pearl streets. But there are also several privately-owned lots that might benefit from some incentives that could lead them to consider home additions and new constructions, according to Council President Dave Kesvormas.
“I know it’s a group that owns all those lots on Jefferson Street,” he said during last week’s council meeting. “Since we’re going to be planning all that out, why don’t we plan out some kind of incentivizing them to either lower the price or get them in front of us to either lower the price on those lots or, say, if they sell those lots, will we appropriate x amount of dollars to match to maybe connect the sewer and water for free?”
Kesvormas noted that the potential cost of sewer and water connection might be one of the things discouraging potential buyers. He added that home construction has seen an upturn in recent years, and it might be time for the town council to reach out to the current owners again. “We have set a goal, and I’ll start making a big deal out of the ‘22 by ’22,’” Kesvormas said. “I mean, if you build all those – there’s 11 lots over there – we’ve met half our goal. I would be happy with that, personally.”
Kesvormas felt that would greatly impact the tax base and possibly help the Oregon-Davis School Corporation with its enrollment numbers.
