Community Update

Hard to believe that this fall has already gone, but the snow this past week certainly helped! In honor of this quick season change, and to reduce the good natured pestering that I have received about my lack of updates, I am posting another now. Those on our mailing lists already received the majority of this information but I wanted to make sure everyone is up to date. You can download the pdf attached to that mailing here:

Since that last mailing list update, I’ve continued to have people contact me for a project updates and recent images. I’ve dropped the ball again but rest assured that our updates and frequency will be increasing. And even this past mailing list update occurred at another hectic cross roads, coinciding with the two year anniversary of commencing development work. As I shared then, this project has shown me that as we reach these milestones, Heron must adapt to meet the new needs.

What a difference 75 days makes!

New Heron Team Members

As shared in the prior mailing list update it was obvious that Heron was demanding more time than our team could give. It was encouraging that our planning was progressing and even with the delays of a large complex project the regional impact was increasing. Since I first started pursuing the Heron project in 2013 it has grown in leaps and bounds and now it is time for our team to do the same. We announced that our team was growing!

Mike Thomas Associates (MTA) is our new residential marketing team and Xplor Commercial is our new commercial marketing team. Their collective experience and structure will provide the backbone to meet our unique needs. MTA will be overseeing and providing marketing, sales support, and perhaps the most encouraging for me is site tours! I have truly enjoyed all of the tours that I have given, meeting everyone, and discussing the details of the community planning. But it was time for me to focus on the final lake improvements, community planning, commercial start-up, and sitewide amenities. Please reach out to MTA’s Andrea Zehr or Jay Price for any information about the site or their decision to represent this community. I know that they have received a warm welcome and lots of inquiries. We are excited to have them on board!

Special Open House

MTA and Lakewood Park Christian School have a special open house this Friday, Nov 22nd from 2PM-4PM. There will be cheese and crackers with information about the school and the Heron Lake project. It is being held at the Buescher Model home on Lot 1. Having Lakewood so close to the Heron Lake project is a great positive for families looking for alternative education options for their children.

Beaches are in the Springs!

A number of the houses under construction were finished this fall and we are happy to have more families on-site. Other onsite activity included the beaches within The Springs being placed in anticipation of the lake restored to normal level this upcoming summer. Being able to truly utilize the space between the house and lake has always been a driving design factor in our community planning. And we are seeing large patios with yard to spare, inground pools, and other outdoor living spaces being placed in this 80ft wide strip.

Home of the Year

Thank you everyone for your responses and feedback on our new marketing and sales team. As I said earlier, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone during the early phases of the Heron project. It was a pleasure to share the vision and receive feedback on our planning. Your comments and thoughts did not go unnoticed. We have tried to provide the lifestyle and community that we value most. And we stand committed to that vision and those goals, regardless of the delays and Indiana weather!

In this upcoming year I look forward to moving my family to Heron and enjoying the fruits of everyone’s efforts over these past years. It has been a concerted group effort by so many individuals and families. And it reminds me that during this season of reflection we truly have plenty of blessing for which to be thankful. I hope and pray that the same is for you this year and that you have a pleasant Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My very best regards,

Stephen Brown

Managing Partner

These past months have been an absolute whirlwind. Between preparing construction documents for our sections to be constructed this year and trying to keep up with inquiries, we have been thankfully quite busy. However, the web update could wait no longer. Even if the sunny day that surprised us wasn’t ideal, we were going to get those drone photos that everyone keeps asking us for.

“Show us the houses under construction.” This is common request and we have complied, see below.

The image above shows the current homes under construction with the marketing sheet perspective for comparison to the right. Note the apparent size comparison between the houses, Bob Buescher’s model home on Lot 1 is only slightly smaller in square footage than the house on Lot 19. And Lot 19 isn’t even a third of the way up the lake! It is quite exciting seeing the house starts and we are looking forward to a few more in these upcoming weeks.

“Show us what the houses look like from the north basin.” This is another typical request. Given the length of the lake and distance to travel around, very few people make it all the way to the northern end. Unless you’ve been on a tour, you probably haven’t been on the 3 mile loop all the way around.

As you can see from the image comparison above, the other reason we don’t typically post a lot of pictures from the north end is because you can’t see the homes to the south. They are basically a mile away and quite difficult to pick out of a picture. But hopefully the comparison above will demonstrate relative sizes and new perspective for most of you.

Thanks to everyone that have provided feedback on our townhouse planning and also attended the roundabout hearings. We still have not fully committed to the roundabout but hope that it will be possible. That intersection treatment is the best solution for this unique location.

Our website and marketing package is currently being overhauled with the new sections that will be available for transfer this year. We are looking forward to sharing our updated planning and timelines soon! Join our mailing list to stay up-to-date and don’t forget to schedule your free tour. As the weather permits your tour may also include a boat ride. Enjoy the sun while it lasts!

Hello Everyone!  Our latest update is available for download at the link below:

November Update

Thank you for your interest, we hope you all have a pleasant Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone!  This update is unique as we are sending out a PDF with general information.  Please click below to download your copy:

Sitewide Update – Sept 2018

Thanks for visiting, we hope to see you again soon!

This update is somewhat unusual as we will have a brief discussion about the property taxes and Resident Assessment at Heron Lake.  In short, combined the property taxes and Resident Assessment at Heron Lake should be cheaper than just the taxes at your current lake house.  To find out how and why we planned it this way read below.  Otherwise, skip to the last paragraph for the brief update and look for the pictures!

Two of the more common questions we receive during tours concerns property taxes and our Resident Assessment.  Typically our tour guests are used to paying taxes on a secondary residence in the public lakeband that does not benefit from a homestead exemption.  In fact, along with actual projected site maintenance expenses, the homestead exemption was a primary factor in determining the target amount for the Resident Assessment at Heron Lake.

We did not want any homeowner to pay more for their combined property tax and Resident Assessment than a single secondary residence tax payment in the public lakeband.  Meaning that combining houses from Allen County and the public lakeband would always result in a major reduction in property taxes but what about the other recurring costs?  We wanted the recurring cost of living at Heron Lake to be less than the public lakeband and offer so much more in return.  Remember that this Resident Assessment covers lakeshore maintenance, trail access, marina access, etc. and other items/services not being provided in the lakeband.  So what impact does a homestead have?

Here are a handful of telling data points about the homestead exemption by county in 2017.  In Allen County the nonhomestead residential taxes were 19% of the overall residential taxes.  In DeKalb County this was 26% and in Steuben County this was 64%.  That means that in Steuben County the nonhomestead residential taxes account for twice as much revenue as the homesteads!  Whereas in Allen County the homesteads are over 4 times the revenue of the nonhomesteads.  Surprisingly, the amount of nonhomestead taxes in Steuben County was greater than the total residential taxes in DeKalb County.

These exemptions are not created equal as the reduction is not the same from county to county.  In Steuben County the average difference in your tax bill caused by the homestead exemption is a 9.3% reduction, in Allen County it is 12.5%.  In DeKalb County this homestead exemption is on average a reduction of 25.3%.  By analyzing these rate reductions and our overall maintenance planning, we are able to tell those people on tours that your tax bill on a secondary house in the lake band should be greater than your combined tax bill AND your Resident Assessment at Heron Lake.  And we will save this concept for another discussion:  Your tax rates at Heron will not be treated as if you are on lakefront, because the lake is privately owned, not owned by the State.

If you made it this far through the boring numbers and tax discussion, congratulations!  Here are a couple updates to reward your persistence.  We are excited to see our recycling efforts proceeding with material piles on site.  Watching the crushing and cleanup just reinforces how far along the site has come from four years ago when we took possession.  The homes under construction continue to progress and there should be a couple more started shortly so stay tuned.  The electric, data fiber, and natural gas are all being installed now as well.  Our site has City of Auburn water, sewer, electricity, data fiber, and NIPSCO for natural gas.

Thank you for your interest in the Heron Lake project, don’t forget to schedule your tour!

We are pleased to announce that two weeks ago Heron Development received provisional approval from the Redevelopment Commission (RDC) for matching TIF funds to aid in our construction of a proposed roundabout.  These funds, up to $225,000, will be used for construction pending the additional approval of the final construction plans and permitting by the various agencies.  Heron is excited about the opportunity to improve this intersection and help aid in regional development and growth.  This intersection treatment, seen below, will accommodate all forms of traffic and allow for better traffic flows in the future as they continue to increase.  This roundabout is much larger than the roundabouts on Union Chapel Road in Allen County, instead using sizing currently in practice around Indianapolis.  This will provide our primary commercial entrance and we anticipate that it will commence construction next spring and be completed by early summer.  Thank you to all that appeared at the public meetings, met with us individually, or otherwise provide feedback and comments!

On other news, Bob Buescher Homes broke ground with trenching footers for their model home foundation today!  This model is going in at Lot 1 in The Springs.  We are excited to see the model homes start construction.  Stay tuned for other updates and keep your eyes open for other foundations being placed.  Should you have any questions about the Buescher model home please don’t hesitate to contact them at the number shown in the picture.

 

The other house in the picture is a private home being built by Timberlin on Lot 5.  It quite amazing to see the homes starting to take shape.  Don’t forget to schedule your tour and see the transformations occurring around the site!