A new housing development is officially set to begin for the City of Riverside.

The Riverside City Council approved the Northern Growth Development Agreement with APEX Development Group, LLC pending attorney approval on a 4-1 vote at their recent meeting. The agreement is to annex and subdivide about 28 acres of property northwest of Riverside in an agreement with Yeggy Roetlin Farms, LLC. The city will pay for the design and construction costs of concrete paving of Tupelo Boulevard to the entrance of the subdivision as well as costs of extending infrastructure to the subdivision.

Mayor Allen Schneider further explains the agreement, “It’s a phased project, this agreement is strictly for the first phase of that. So they’re looking at building 14 new homes and the city would provide funding to help pay for the infrastructure, the street, water, and sewer at a cost of $450,000 to $500,000. And then the city would look to reclaim that money with TIF (tax increment financing) over a 10-year period.”

Schneider says the next step for the city will be to annex the 28 acres and then the developer will submit its preliminary plat for the first phase for the city council to look at in the future. The agreement also states there will be no less than four additional 10 lot phases that the city will help fund.