Engineer presents revived Fry Court plan, says a TID would be needed to make 72‑unit project viable

John Moss, an engineer with JMM Consulting, told the Marshfield Common Council on April 28 that a previously approved Fry Court development proposal could be revived as a 72‑unit apartment project but will likely require tax‑increment financing to make the economics work.

Moss described the developer’s prior work in Marshfield and said cost increases since 2022 pushed the project to the shelf until recently. He told the council the developer would seek a substantial split of TID increment to offset development costs and to help keep rents at more affordable levels. “If the project was built out by 2030… the taxes that would be generated at basically the current rate, increased by 2% for those next 4 years would be $134,000 plus,” Moss said during his remarks.

Moss gave a series of numeric estimates: he stated the developer expects a guaranteed assessed value of over $7,000,000 by Dec. 31, 2029 for the site and indicated construction cost estimates of roughly $184,000 per unit. He said current rents in comparable existing projects in town are about $12.50 per month per bedroom (he used the local shorthand in the presentation); he argued that TID assistance is commonly used by municipalities to bridge gaps in affordable housing projects.

Why it matters: the proposal, if pursued, would affect local housing supply, municipal tax revenue projections and utility capacity planning (Moss said on‑site utility work could improve water pressure for nearby mobile home park residents). Moss left handouts for council members and said he would remain available to answer follow‑up questions.

Next steps: Moss was on the public comment portion and later addressed the council again during the Fry Court agenda item; staff and council did not take a formal vote on a TID at this meeting. Moss said he will be available by phone and email and that the developer expects to engage further with staff on TID structure and potential proposals to bring back to the council.