The Hartley City Council is hoping an incentive package will attract new businesses to the City With a Heart.

Council members on Monday unanimously approved real estate pricing and financial incentives for the new industrial park on Highway 18. The 20-acre site is currently under construction, but it's expected to be finished by the end of the year.

"We built it so businesses would come here," said Council Member Mary Westphalen. "You have to give incentives."

Lots in the industrial park will be listed at 70 cents per square foot, or $30,492 per acre. Property tax rebates will be made available and city utility charges will also be waived during building construction for up to six months. Additionally, rebates for building on the property will total $1.50 per square foot for storage buildings and $2 per square foot for finished space.

Progress at the industrial park has moved along rapidly this spring and summer. Underground utilities have been installed and tested, the sanitary sewer and water mains are in, as is the storm sewer. The detention basin has been dug and a nearby outlet waterway has also been added. Roads will be paved this summer.

According to City Administrator Erica Haack, at least one company has asked about purchasing land in the new industrial park.

"They're interested and asking questions," she said.

The new industrial park is located directly west of Grace Fellowship on Highway 18. It's construction was prompted by a lack of space in Hartley as the current industrial park located on the southeast side of town is near capacity.

The price tag of the project is estimated at $1.1-$1.3 million. The area has been divided into nine lots – the largest encompasses 3.56 acres and the smallest occupies 0.83 acres. The city is using tax increment financing (TIF) funds to pay for some of the development expenses.

NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS

It may just be dirt and tiles right now, but Hartley's new industrial park is slated for completion sometime this year.

The land for the new industrial park was purchased from Brent and Kimberly Rieck and Jason Krosch in December 2018 for $22,000 per acre, or $440,000 in total. An additional parcel of land totaling approximately 1 acre was purchased this year at a similar price to accommodate the outlet waterway.