Developer eyes Junction City for new homes.Byline: DEVELOPMENT REPORT By Joe Harwood The Register-Guard JUNCTION CITY Junction City, city (1990 pop. 20,604), seat of Geary co., NE Kans., at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers; inc. 1859. The rail, trade, and processing center of an agricultural and dairy area, it grew as the supply point for nearby Fort Riley, - With most vacant and available real estate parcels of 5 acres or more gone from the Eugene-Springfield market, developer Ross Murry is moving north. The prolific developer of Eugene's Valley River Village is in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of bringing almost 60 residential acres into the Junction City limits. With the red-hot demand for housing showing no signs of slackening, Murry said the dearth of developable residential land in Eugene and Springfield is forcing him out to the metro area's bedroom communities. Murry last November won approval from the Lane County Boundary Commission to annex an·nex tr.v. an·nexed, an·nex·ing, an·nex·es 1. To append or attach, especially to a larger or more significant thing. 2. 8.8 acres at the northeast corner of Oaklea Drive and High Pass Road into Junction City. Murry said he expects to obtain tentative tentative, adj not final or definite, such as an experimental or clinical finding that has not been validated. approval for the High Pass Meadows subdivision this week. "There's 37 lots there we'll build this spring," Murry said. Along Junction City's southernmost boundary, Murry is attempting to annex into the city 33 acres of property at the northwest corner of Prairie prairie Level or rolling grassland, especially that found in central North America. Decreasing amounts of rainfall, from 40 in. (100 cm) at the forested eastern edge to less than 12 in. Road and Bailey Lane. Although the land is now zoned for rural residential uses with a minimum lot size of 5 acres, it is designated in the city's comprehensive plan for more dense housing development. That property is adjacent to the 49-lot Prairie Meadows development, which has already received approval. Murry said if the annexation annexation, in international law, formal act by which a state asserts its sovereignty over a territory previously outside its jurisdiction. Many kinds of territory have been subject to annexation, chief among them those inhabited by settlers of the annexing power, is approved, he plans to develop approximately 130 residential lots on the Prairie Road site. Whether the city and Boundary Commission will allow Murry to bring the land into the city's boundaries remains unclear. Junction City last year approved five annexations, the largest being a 165-acre area west of Oaklea, between Sixth and 15th avenues. Developer-builder Bruce Wiechert has a subdivision application pending with the city for 31 acres of that Oaklea-area property. A 1998 city study projected the need for 267 acres to accommodate single-family home development through the year 2020. Since that study was completed, the city has annexed 224 acres, or 84 percent, of the land needed to meet demand until 2020, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. city documents. At the northern edge of Junction City, Murry also is seeking to annex 18 acres of land south of 18th Avenue and west of Rose Street. That parcel, zoned for agriculture uses, is designated by the city for apartments and townhouses. Murry, who plans to sell the land to an apartment developer once the city annexes it, estimates the property would accommodate about 20 apartments per acre. Murry said he paid a total of $3.1 million for the Oaklea parcel, the 18th Avenue and Rose Street land and the 33 acres off Prairie Road. The price includes 20 acres south of Bailey Lane that is outside the city's urban growth boundary "UGB" redirects here. UGB may also refer to Unión de Guerreros Blancos (White Warriors' Union), a death squad founded to repress leftist elements in El Salvador. An urban growth boundary, or UGB . Murry said he plans to sit on that land for a few years. In addition to his Junction City projects, Murry is developing or designing home lots in Florence, Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). , Springfield and Sweet Home. Development Report runs Tuesdays. To suggest items, contact Joe Harwood at 338-2364 or jharwood@guardnet.com. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion