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Council approves Waterview senior housing plats, vacates easements and signs TIF deal to fund part of project
Summary
Willmar City Council approved vacation of drainage and utility easements and preliminary/final plats for the Waterview senior housing site and approved a tax‑increment financing (TIF) agreement that will pledge about $5.1 million (not the full $7.8M authorized in the plan) over a 26‑year term; the TIF passed 5–1 after debate about the term length.
Willmar City Council on Oct. 2 approved a set of land‑use and financing moves to advance the Waterview senior housing development, including vacating drainage and utility easements to allow lot consolidation, approving the preliminary and final plats and adopting a tax‑increment financing agreement to provide part of the project subsidy.
The actions clear the way for a roughly 3‑acre combined parcel adjacent to a planned assisted‑living and memory‑care development. Christopher Corbett, the city’s planning and development director, described the easement vacation as necessary so Trident (the developer) can combine parcels and proceed with site work. The plat approvals passed on unanimous roll calls; no members of the public spoke at the hearings.
The council also approved a negotiated TIF agreement that staff said carries forward terms from an earlier TIF plan. City attorney Robert Scott said the TIF plan previously authorized up to roughly $7.8 million in assistance but the agreement before the council will pledge about $5.1 million through a TIF note. The TIF covers a development that staff described as roughly 60–61 assisted‑living units and 14 memory‑care units, with about 15 units targeted at 50% of area median income. The agreement was approved 5–1; one council member recorded a no vote and another member questioned the 26‑year term and said they had hoped for a substantially shorter financing term.
Council discussion focused on the length of the TIF term and precedent for long housing TIF districts. Staff said the city has used longer TIF terms and that the district could be decommissioned earlier if revenues permit. The vote did not include substantive amendments to the agreement; staff said final purchase agreements and appraisals remain outstanding for related properties tied to the broader care‑center transaction.
The council’s approvals mean the developer can proceed to the next permitting and purchase‑agreement steps. City staff said they will return with a purchase agreement for the related property sale and continue coordination on the development timetable.
