The Carroll City Council will need to head back to the drawing board after plans for a proposed housing development fell through. Earlier this month, the council voted 4-1 to proceed with a land swap with Pete Simons, John Simons, and KMC Farm Ltd. for more than 80 acres of land west of the Carroll Municipal Golf Course valued at nearly $3.5 million. City Manager Aaron Kooiker says the land transfer was contingent on the sellers’ success during an auction last week.
The sellers did not win the land auction, halting the transaction with the city. Kooiker adds that the city is still interested in the land near the golf course, but the council will need to approve a proposed deal again for any development to proceed.
Kooiker, who previously completed several housing developments while working with Hull and Fairfield, says disruptions like this are not uncommon.
Kooiker and representatives from the Carroll Chamber of Commerce and Carroll County Growth Partnership (CCGP) have hinted recently that several substantial economic development endeavors are in the works. While it is too early for Kooiker to go into detail on those plans, he says the land deal falling through won’t put those in jeopardy.
As the council has identified land acquisitions for housing and commercial development as some of its top priorities for the coming budget year, Kooiker says staff will continue working toward deals that are beneficial to landowners and taxpayers.
