Construction Revs Up At Former Glenwood Swimming Pool Site
Excavation work Friday afternoon at the former site of Glenwood’s outdoor swimming pool on the 300 block of North Elm Street. An apartment complex has been proposed for the site.
Apartments are planned for the former Glenwood Swimming Pool property.
Large trees are removed from the site in December 2021.
Site clearing and excavation work for a proposed apartment complex at the former Glenwood Swimming Pool site on the 300 block of North Elm Street is well under way, but the property is now under new ownership.
Cory Leick, who purchased the 2.1-acre parcel from the city in 2012, confirmed on Monday that he has sold the property to Burr Oak, LLC, a Council Bluffs-based company managed by Travis Overhue. Documents filed at the Mills County Courthouse indicate the property sale took place on Nov. 30.
In March 2020, the Glenwood City Council rezoned the property from R-3 (Urban Family Residential) to R-4 (Multifamily Resedential) after Leick presented his plans to build a 32-unit apartment complex on the site. During his presentation, Leick said the apartments would address a need for affordable rental housing cited in a 2017 comprehensive plan prepared for Mills County and also provide potential housing for displaced victims of the 2019 Missouri River flood.
The city council rezoned the property despite hearing opposition from several neighborhood residents who voiced concerns about the impact the apartments would have on the character of the neighborhood and property values.
Leick said Overhue’s company is a better equipped to carry out the project.
“It’s a big project and it’s a better fit for them than me,” Leick said.
A telephone message left for Overhue had not been returned as of press time Tuesday morning. Activity at the site has picked up dramatically in recent weeks. Several large trees were removed from the property in December and a steady flow of “Sidedumpr” trailer trucks have been hauling dirt from the site in recent days.
Glenwood City Administrator Amber Farnan said the ownership change isn’t expected to change the scope of the project.
“Yes, it’s still going to be apartments,” she said. “They had to change the plan due to some sewer capacity issues, I believe, and then the Green Street (requirements) had made them change some of their plans, too, because you have to have so much rain water collection, I believe, for the grant.”
The grant Farnan referenced is through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program that provides funds on a formula basis for the development of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income persons.