Also present to lend advice and a helping hand were Coop residents Don Petersen, Dick and Doris Smith. The Village Cooperative is home to the residents of 50 individually-owned units. Homeowner Shirley Petersen says, “Living in a maintenance-free setting gives us extra time to pursue our hobbies and take part in community activities.” Ruth Graf, who also lives at the Coop, finds it especially appealing because of her frequent trips to Arizona to help care for aging parents. “I just turn the key and leave,” she says, “knowing it will be fine when I get back. Snowbirds and other travelers like that aspect of the Coop, too!”

The Village Cooperative offers a maintenance-free, independent, and moderately priced lifestyle to residents age 55 and over.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Rome wasn’t built in a day. The same is true of Pinnacle Prairie.

It’s about 780 acres. It has the potential for up to 1,500 dwelling units, equal to a tenth of the city’s households. It could hold commercial development worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

It’s been 10 years in the making. Only about one-third of the acreage has been developed. Some proposals were opposed by neighbors. Progress was slowed by the 2008 economic downturn.

But now a confluence of events, including the completion of a main thoroughfare through the area, could lead to an explosion of development.

“We’re positioned for very significant growth,” said Merrill Oster, on whose land the project is being developed. “We’ve probably grown $70 million for the city so far, and when we’re done, probably $400 million. We’re still probably 10 years away from that.”

That would be roughly 14 percent of the total $2.7 billion in assessed valuation in Cedar Falls.

Lockard Development is in charge of the project.

Oster, an ag commodities publishing entrepreneur who now lives near Chicago, visits often.

Signs of growth are everywhere:

Home construction is underway in The Villages, near the western end of the Green Creek housing development and just west of Valley Lutheran School.

Village Cooperative of Cedar Falls is building a multistory residential building.

The Western Home South Main Street campus continues to grow on the west end of the project.

Commercial developments near East Viking Road, on the south end of Pinnacle, are ready to take off, including a proposed retail “power center” strip mall.

Immanuel Lutheran Church has staked out a site for its new home as it relocates from Waterloo.

Prairie Parkway, a north-south arterial between Greenhill and Viking roads, should be completed this year.

Prairie Parkway

Developers and city officials agree completion of Prairie Parkway will be the catalyst for significant commercial development.

It should ease traffic congestion in the busy Walmart-Target-Menards area. It is seen as a safer alternative to Iowa Highway 58 for motorists trying to access the big-box retail stores on East Viking Road east of Highway 58, and it more directly connects residents in Pinnacle Prairie and neighborhoods to the north, like the Briarwood Hills addition, to the stores along East Viking.

Ron Gaines, director of developmental services with the city of Cedar Falls, said with the economy improving, many businesses are ripe for expansion and relocation.

“Coupled with the fact that you’re going to open up pretty much all the acres with Prairie Parkway, we believe that development will take off,” Gaines said.

That should include new restaurants Gaines said. “You have 7,000 employees right across the highway in the industrial park.”

Bid letting on Prairie Parkway is expected in mid-June, pending resolution of wetlands issues. To mitigate wetlands lost for the road project, Lockard and the Black Hawk County Conservation Board plan a wetlands area at Hickory Hills Park to help preserve Casey Lake there. The Conservation Board approved the project May 9, county conservation director Vern Fish said. State and federal approvals are anticipated within 60 days.

The road, which will cost an estimated $2 million and be paid for with tax increment financing, could be open as soon as Thanksgiving weekend, Gaines said.

One builder already in the ground at Pinnacle Prairie is Brook Klunder of Klunder Homes, who is building condos and larger single-family homes.

“The main reason we got in here is that real estate is location,” Klunder said. “Easy access to Cedar Falls. Easy access to Waterloo.”

The presence of several churches, as well as Valley Lutheran School, will add to the area’s stability, he said.

About half of the lots Klunder is developing have sold.

“In the last year, we’ve really seen the area come to life,” he said.

The portion of the development off the existing Prairie Parkway — where Lockard’s office headquarters are located at Greenhill Road — already sports a fledgling office park, including MidWestOne Bank, and several medical offices and clinics.

A new ‘front door’

Kris Hansen, CEO of Western Home Communities, said the senior care organization plans to construct new residential cottages — with licensed nursing care for residents with dementia issues — as well as larger buildings for people recuperating from procedures such as hip and knee replacements. Those lots will stretch right up to Prairie Parkway.

“South Main Street,” the main access now, “will kind of become our back door,” Hansen said. “Prairie Parkway, with probably 16,000 vehicles a day, that’s definitely becoming our front door, I’d say, within the next five years.”

“Even though we’re a nonprofit, with our independent living, assisted living, those residents do pay property taxes. If you add up all that residential tax base, we’ve got one of the largest communities in the county,” Hansen said.

At its south end, Prairie Parkway emerges onto Viking Road just west of the new Menards store with a roundabout at Brandilynn Boulevard. The prospect of its completion is triggering interest in more commercial development near Viking Road.

“We have a piece of land between the Menards and the Walmart which we’re going to be looking to do, hopefully, a power center,” said Dave Wilson, vice president with Lockard Development. That’s his term for a retail mini-mall, similar to those around Crossroads Center in Waterloo.

It’s a far cry from the controversy of a decade ago, when an initial proposal to locate Walmart and a Lowe’s building supply store along Greenhill Road drew vehement protests from neighbors.

One of those neighbors was Don Tamisiea, a former Cedar Falls Chamber of Commerce executive vice president who lived in the area since the mid-1960s. Now, Tamisiea lives in a Western Home villa, not far from where Prairie Parkway will be built.

“As it’s developed now, I think it’s great,” he said of Pinnacle Prairie.

The developers said steady growth was always the vision for Pinnacle Prairie. It was always seen as a 20-year project. Now, that vision is coming to fruition.

“We have fought through some issues with some of our projects,” Wilson conceded. “We brought some stuff that didn’t work way back when. “But we want to grow this area. I think we’re on the right track.”

Merrill Oster at the Pinnacle Prairie development in Cedar Falls Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

Brook Klunder moves dirt around the foundation of a new house under construction in Cedar Falls Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Developer Merrill Oster and construction contractor Brook Klunder at a new house under construction in Cedar Falls Tuesday, May 7, 2013

This is a illustration of Prairie Parkway, the road extending through Pinnacle Prairie between East Viking and Greenhill roads, anticipated to be completed this year.

Merit Construction will build 35-unit facility off Mason Road.

Real Estate Equities Development, LLC announced Merit Construction of Cedar Rapids will be the general contractor for the new Village Cooperative complex in Burlington.

Merit Construction has an extensive history in the construction industry in southeast Iowa including Burlington. The contractor recently build the new Edward Stone Middle School on Mason Road just to the west of the future Village Cooperative location.

The Village Cooperative of Burlington will consist of 35 new homes. Owners will have the choice of one-and two-bedroom, single-level homes that range from 899-1,489 square feet of living space. Each home will be completely maintenance-free and each includes a laundry room, storage area and a private balcony or patio.

Proposed community features include: Multiple community party rooms, fitness center, guest suite, elevator, woodworking shop, raised garden beds, free wireless Internet, safe and secure entrances with security cameras, heated underground parking garage and car wash.

“Our company started developing cooperative communities in 2003 because we saw the desire for this type of dynamic lifestyle. These communities give adults 55 and over, around the Midwest, the option of a hassle-free lifestyle in their home with the amenities they desire,” said Keith Jans, President of Real Estate Equities Development, LLC.

As a cooperative, the members control every aspect of ownership. The cooperative will also employ an on-site resident services coordinator as well as offer courtesy services.

Real Estate Equities Development is based in St. Paul, Minn., and has established 10 Village Cooperative communities in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. The company has seven other communities in the works including the Burlington complex off Mason Road.

April 24th, 2013

CLINTON — Area residents on Tuesday got to see what Nancy Rockwell has known for a month.

Rockwell moved into the Village Cooperative on March 22 and, since then, the sense of family and community has infiltrated the walls of the three-story, 44-unit structure at 1160 14th Ave. Northwest, Rockwell said.

A former renter, Rockwell, along with other members, showed off the building to guests Tuesday during an open house. Despite the steady stream of rain pouring outside, several onlookers packed inside to get a glimpse of what Rockwell and other members were eager to show off.

“Anything we need is right here,” Rockwell said. “There’s nothing they forgot.”

Village Cooperative member Nancy Rockwell (left) shows off one of the units available at the facility to Pat Torgler, of Asbury, during an open house Tuesday. Torgler is a Village Cooperative member at the building in Asbury.

Although landscaping still needs to be completed, the building’s interior was on full display, including units that are still available. Thirty-eight of the 44 units have been sold. The $5 million structure features 44 one-, two- and two-plus bedroom, single-level homes that range from 879 to 1,475 square feet for people older than 55.

Tuesday’s event was a culmination of a project that experienced a few hiccups along the way due to weather. The longer winter delayed the project, along with losing part of the roofing structure during August’s storm.

But the turnout on Tuesday reinforced Clinton residents’ desire to see new housing, Village Cooperative representative Keith Jans said.

“The turnout was great,” Jans said. “We want people from the community to familiarize themselves with the building.”

Plans for the project started in February 2011, and Rockwell decided to join the cooperative in November 2011. Others waited longer, like Marilou Finn, of Clinton.

Finn chose the cooperative in September after her husband’s death. She was still able to choose all her finishings, something that attracted numerous early buyers.

“My house was just too big,” Finn said. “And this has a good community feel and it’s secure.”

Standard features include a community room, reading areas, club room, woodworking shop, guest suite, garden plots and an underground heated parking area with a car wash bay.

Also, members control every aspect of occupancy and the facility will house about 60 to 65 residents.

But it’s the family atmosphere that helps members like Rockwell and Finn promote the Village Cooperative to their friends.

“I would recommend this place to anyone,” Rockwell said.

A look inside The $5 million structure features 44 one-, two- and two-plus bedroom, single-level homes that range from 879 to 1,475 square feet for people older than 55. Thirty-eight of the 44 units have been sold. Standard features include a community room, reading areas, club room, woodworking shop, guest suite, garden plots and an underground heated parking area with a car wash bay.

CLINTON — The Village Cooperative may not be 100 percent done just yet, but the finish line is in sight.

Project Manager Shane Wright said residents have started moving in to the new senior housing complex, and all that remains to be completed is landscaping.

“I would say the inside of the building is 99.9 percent complete,” Wright said. “We’re finishing up some last minute punch list items.

“We had a longer winter this year, and we haven’t gotten the landscaping in. But the forecasting looks good for the next week, and with some melt off, we’ll get the landscaping in during the next couple of weeks.”

The $5 million three-story building located north of Fareway at 1160 14th Ave. Northwest, features 44 one-, two- and two-plus bedroom, single-level homes that range from 879 to 1,475 square feet.

Wright said 38 units are sold, which isn’t unlike many other over-55 complexes that the Minneapolis-based Real Estate Equities have constructed in the past.

“It’s not always full when you open a new building,” Wright said. “We will have a busy spring with a grand opening. The community is anxious to see homes of their friends.”

Construction of the building did experience some hiccups along the way. The longer winter delayed the project, along with losing part of the roofing structure during August’s storm.

But the near-finished product is something Wright is happy to show off to the community.

“A lot of people said this couldn’t happen in Clinton,” Wright said.

It did, and now the city will reap some benefits of new residents. Occupancy averages a little less than two people per unit, registering about 60 to 65 people that will use the Village Cooperative as new housing.

Some of those people are current Clinton residents, but approximately eight units are people from out of town, generally coming from across the Mississippi River.

“When we’re going into communities, we choose places that have a strong unmet need for housing for people over the age of 55,” Wright said. “That’s first and foremost.

“But right down the line, there’s another big priority, and that’s bringing in dollars that weren’t being spent in Clinton and moving them over to Clinton.”

And some residents have already started calling the complex home. The first residents slept at the facility March 21, and gradually during the next few weeks, more residents will officially move in to the complex.

“We’ve been taken aback with the wonderful group of buyers we have in Clinton,” Wright said.

Each home includes a laundry room, storage area and a private balcony or patio.

Standard features include a community room, reading areas, club room, woodworking shop, guest suite, garden plots and an underground heated parking area with a car wash bay.

SIOUX CITY | A new senior housing project aims at “actively independent” folks — those who don’t need assistance but still want to own their own home without worrying about taking care of ongoing maintenance.

Village Cooperative of Sioux City will be the first cooperative housing project in Sioux City, offering residents a chance to own a share in a cooperative corporation that will finance and operate the facility.

The arrangement allows residents to enjoy the benefits of home ownership, but the cooperative will take care of yard work, snow removal and maintenance. The development is not an assisted living community, sales coordinator Kevin Tozier said.

“The benefit of this type of independent housing is we don’t have to absorb any kind of health care costs, activity costs or food service costs,” he said. “We’re totally unconnected to any kind of health care organization.”

The concept of cooperative housing has been around since the late 1970s, but the venture will be the first of its kind in Sioux City. There are more than 100 cooperatives nationally, most of them located in the Midwest, which not surprising, Tozier said because of Midwesterners’ familiarity with how agricultural cooperatives work.

“The basic concept is not that much different from cooperative (grain) elevators,” Tozier said.

Real Estate Equities Development, Village Cooperative of Sioux City’s parent company, is based in Eagan, Minn., and has six communities in Minnesota, 10 in Iowa and one in Wisconsin.

Tozier said Sioux City was chosen as a new site because there is a need for more senior housing. Village Cooperative is open to people age 55 and older.

“It’s basically just growing demographics and the need for senior housing,” Tozier said. “The big shortage is on the independent side. All other big senior communities are rentals.”

The Sioux City location will be built at 1400 Indian Hills Drive, directly south of First Covenant Church. Tozier said the company expects to break ground this summer.

“A lot of people have asked why we haven’t broken ground yet,” he said. “We have to do a 60 percent commitment, and that secures the financing.”

To reach that mark, commitments must be secured on 27 of the 44 units. Through March 12, Village Cooperative had 23 commitments.

“I think we’re right on schedule,” Tozier said.

If construction starts as planned, he said, residents could begin moving in by late spring 2014.

They’ll be moving into one- or two-bedroom units that will range in size from 870 square feet to 1,490 square feet. Residents can choose from 13 different floor plans and will be able to have input on some of the interior design features such as paint and cabinet colors.

“Our variety of floor plans you usually don’t find in a senior community,” Tozier said.

All units will contain a full kitchen, a master bedroom and a bathroom with a walk-in shower. A refrigerator, stove, dishwasher and full-size washer and dryer are also included. Each unit will have its own gas furnace and air conditioner.

Residents will pay for their own utilities, but the cooperative takes care of mowing, snow removal and interior maintenance such as fixing and replacing appliances.

The facility will have a community room with a full kitchen, library, a smaller meeting room, guest suite available to be reserved for visitors, fully stocked exercise room, wood shop and heated underground parking with car wash bay.

Tozier said shares will range from $46,000 to $78,000, depending on the type of unit. He said that a benefit of owning a unit in the cooperative is that when a resident leaves, the purchase and resale of the unit is handled by the cooperative. The owner doesn’t have to hire a real estate agent, and the sale is handled as a stock share, not a real estate transaction, so there are no Realtors’ fees. Tozier said the units will appreciate at about 3 percent per year.

Tozier said that once Village Cooperative is full, a second Sioux City location is possible, but the company likely would wait a little while before beginning such a project. For now, the company is eyeing expansion into Nebraska and South Dakota, which Omaha, Lincoln and Sioux Falls as potential locations.

For more information

The Village Cooperative of Sioux City has a sales office located at 1551 Indian Hills Drive, Suite 104. Sales coordinator Kevin Tozier can be reached at 712-258-3387.

For more company information, visit www.villagecooperative.com.

The Village Cooperative of Sioux City has announced that their general contractor will be L & L Builders Co. of Sioux City.  “They have an extensive history in the construction industry and I am extremely confident that they will do an excellent job as the general contractor. We are excited to have a local contractor on board!” said Andrew Schaefer, Project Manager from Real Estate Equities Development, LLC.

The Village Cooperative of Sioux City will consist of 44 new homes.  Owner’s will have the choice of expertly designed one and two bedroom, single level homes that range from 874 to 1,416 sq. ft. of living space.  Each home is completely maintenance-free and each includes a laundry room, storage area and a private balcony or patio.

Proposed community features include: Multiple community party rooms, fitness center, guest suite, elevator, woodworking shop, raised garden beds, free wireless internet, safe & secure entrances with security cameras, heated underground parking garage, and car wash.

“Our company started developing cooperative communities in 2003 because we saw the desire for this type of dynamic lifestyle.  These communities give adults 55 and over, around the Midwest, the option of a hassle-free lifestyle in their home with the amenities they desire.” said Keith Jans, President of Real Estate Equities Development, LLC.

As a cooperative, the members control every aspect of ownership. The cooperative will also employ an on-site resident services coordinator as well as offer courtesy services.

Kevin Tozier is the Sales Coordinator for the Village Cooperative of Sioux City and has a sales office located at 1551 Indian Hills Drive, Suite 104, Sioux City.   Kevin’s phone number is 712-258-3387

For more company information, visit www.villagecooperative.com and www.reedevelopment.com

“Our company started developing cooperative communities in 2004 because we saw the desire for this type of dynamic lifestyle.  These communities give adults around the Midwest the option of a hassle-free lifestyle in their home with the amenities they desire,” said Keith Jans, President of Development at Real Estate Equities Development, LLC.

The 3-story Village Cooperative will consist of 65 new homes located in a convenient location close by to shopping and many activities for residents to enjoy. The village will also feature beautifully decorated community areas including a community room with kitchen, guest suite, club room, reading areas, outdoor planting areas, wood working shop, creative arts room, fitness center and best of all – underground heated parking.

Residents will have the choice of expertly designed one and two bedroom homes that range from 912 to 1,532 sq. ft. of living space.  Each home is completely maintenance-free and has its own separate laundry room, storage area and private balcony. Well-equipped kitchens include spacious countertops with island, all new appliances, and a choice of cabinetry to suit your personal style.

The cooperative will also employ an on-site resident services coordinator as well as offer courtesy services.

As a cooperative, the members control every aspect of ownership. There is no other senior cooperative in the area that offers the convenience and easy lifestyle available at Village Cooperative.

Shane Wright is the Project Manager, Steve Jahnke is the Director of Sales and Marketing, and Penny Shedek is the Sales Coordinator for Real Estate Equities Development, LLC. Their team has successfully marketed cooperative sales for seventeen Village Cooperatives.

Village Cooperative is offered by Real Estate Equities Development, LLC, a Twin-Cities based, Minnesota real estate development and property management firm who has developed over 30 projects with more than 1,450 housing units in the upper Midwest.

For more company information:

Real Estate Equities Development: www.reedevelopment.com  

Village Cooperative: www.villagecooperative.com

Sales Center location:

3741 Center Point Rd. NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
Phone: 319-378-7400
Email:  cedarrapids@reedevelopment.com

Marketing: NADA advertising, 1535 Sargent Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105, www.nadaadvertising.com

By Natalie Conrad – Herald Staff Writer

November 27, 2012 9:30 am

By: LYNN ZERSCHLING lzerschling@siouxcityjournal.com

SIOUX CITY | The City Council on Monday approved the site plan and rezoned 1400 Indian Hills Drive for an independent living complex called the Village Cooperative of Sioux City.

A 50-unit, three-story building with underground parking is planned. Real Estate Equities Development is the builder.

The Sioux City school district sold the property.