Breckenridge Scales Back Development at Old Middle School Site

Breckenridge Land Acquisition/Aspen Heights, the company that wants to turn the former middle school property into a cottage-style student housing development has slightly scaled back its original plan for the 48 acres.

The company wants to rezone the middle school site to low density allowing about 7.26 single-family homes per acre and the area immediately south of the middle school to a medium density. Fields along Lincoln Way would be developed at a later date, according to documents in the hands of Ames City Council.

Residents of the College Creek-Old Middle School neighborhood were upset when Breckenridge an Austin, Texas; development company won an auction for the land because of the developer's plan to build a 900-bedroom development of homes, townhouses and duplexes for college students. Aspen leases the apartments by the room so that each student has an individual lease.

People who live near the proposed development were concerned about how the density of the plan would impact their lives and said they would rather have a development of single family homes instead.

The new plan calls for building single-family homes where the former Ames middle school stands and higher densities south of that site. The former track and athletic fields that face Lincoln Way near Hy-Vee would be developed in the future, according to a city staff report.

Ames City Council will discuss the plan further at its meeting Tuesday at City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue.

City staff have recommended that the city require a master plan for the development, but said the council would have to approve some type of rezoning.

Currently the land is zoned as special-government and cannot be developed until a zoning change is approved.

“Failure to ultimately change the zoning designation might be considered a 'taking',” the city report said.

Warren Madden, Iowa State University senior vice president for business and finance, has also requested a master plan be developed and seemed wary of the developer based on its past projects. Madden wrote in a letter to council that Breckenridge's past developments have been transferred to other organizations after construction had been completed.

“The lack of demonstrated success and comments from the communities and campuses where they are developing projects contributes to the university's recommendation that a detailed master plan be required including addressing the long term financial obligations that this development will impose on the university and City of Ames,” Madden said.

The developer could not be reached for comment.

Ames Newsletter/Ames Patch Facebook page/Twitter: @AmesPatch

SEE MORE ON PATCH

• School Board Approves Breckenridge Sale Despite Objections to Development Plan
• Breckenridge Highest Bidder For Middle School Property
• And The Winner of the Former Middle School Property Is ….
• Ames Schools To Auction Old Middle School Site
• Developer Airs Plan For Former Ames Middle School Site