PEOSTA, Iowa — Eighty new apartments are coming to Peosta, as the developer considers further future projects.
Callahan Construction plans to construct five 16-unit apartment buildings near Adrina Drive along U.S. 20. The project is located in the southwest corner of a plot of land the company plans to develop west of Cox Springs Road.
“Peosta is one of the fastest-growing cities,” said Joey Callahan, part owner of Callahan Construction and son of President Joel Callahan. “It’s always good to expand the housing market to alleviate upward pressures on housing costs. With (Northeast Iowa Community College) there, we think it’s a great chance to give students a place to live that’s close by or anyone who wants to live and work in Peosta, as well.”
Each of the five buildings will have 16 market-rate units, and each unit will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The timeline of the project depends on the weather.
“We’re still moving dirt out there,” Joey Callahan said. “If the weather stays in our favor, we would try starting to build this year. If not, we would start work in the spring.”
Peosta Mayor Russ Pfab said city officials have been working with Callahan Construction on the project since March. He noted that a 2020 survey conducted in the community showed a deficiency of available apartments for those who work in Peosta.
“It’s no secret that about 5% of people who live in Peosta work there,” he said. “Everyone else works in Dubuque or somewhere else. The idea (with the Callahan project) is to provide housing at market rates that would benefit people that would work in the industrial park, for instance.”
Callahan Construction also is extending Adrina Drive, which runs parallel to U.S. 20. Adrina Drive will connect to Cox Springs Road and allow access from the new apartments to the highway.
“We’re hoping it will alleviate traffic off of Burds Road in Peosta,” Callahan said. “We hear there’s a lot of traffic during school time, so this would alleviate some of that traffic.”
The development comes more than a year after Joel Callahan withdrew an application for a planned unit development to build an apartment complex with more than 150 units at the corner of Burds and Cox Springs roads. About 250 people signed an online petition and 74 signed a written petition opposing that project.
To the east and north of the current apartment project, Callahan Construction officials are considering further development within their 40-acre plot.
Joey Callahan said nothing officially has been decided for the rest of the property, but commercial, residential or hotel space is being considered.
“(A hotel) is definitely in the cards, but it all depends on what the market wants,” Callahan said.
Both Callahan and Pfab said plans are in the works to have trails running through the property.
In October, the Dubuque County Board of Supervisors granted the city $475,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for updates at Kelly Oaks Park. Pfab said the park is planned to serve as a starting point for trails running throughout the city.
“It’s a long-term project for the city, but it definitely has been discussed, and there’s property set aside in the Callahan land for that,” Pfab said.