City of Flandreau approves housing incentives

By Carleen Wild
Moody County Enterpris

As plans take shape for new affordable housing in Flandreau — including a proposed apartment complex along Broad Avenue — city officials have just approved incentives to make development easier to bring to town.
The City Council approved three resolutions designed to encourage residential construction, particularly multi-unit housing that could help meet one of the community’s longest-discussed needs.
Affordable housing has long been identified as a major challenge in Flandreau. Employers have cited it as a barrier to recruiting and retaining workers, while businesses considering the community have questioned whether the region can support the workforce they need.
The issue isn’t unique to Flandreau. Rural communities across the region and nation often cite that a lack of available housing is a key obstacle in attracting and retaining workers.
Locally, smaller efforts have chipped away at that gap over the years, but a new apartment complex would represent a more significant investment in addressing both housing availability and workforce concerns.
“The interest in development in Flandreau has spurred us to look at this and say what can we do to help that growth and stimulate that growth,” Mayor Dan Sutton said.
At the center of the discussion was Resolution 2026-03, which creates a discretionary property tax formula for new commercial residential structures — essentially apartment-style developments.
Allowed under a 2022 state law change, the formula phases in taxable value over seven years, starting at 0 percent the first year after construction and increasing to full valuation by year seven. City officials said the approach helps ease early financial pressures on developers.
The incentive would apply to new structures with four or more units and a value exceeding $30,000.
Two additional measures expand the concept. Resolution 2026-04 allows similar tax treatment in designated redevelopment neighborhoods, while Resolution 2026-05 applies the formula to affordable housing projects with rents set at or below 60 percent of median income.
Officials say the measures lay the groundwork for future housing projects, including the anticipated Broad Avenue development. No developer has yet been publicly identified.
All three resolutions were approved.