Rooms with a view - Woodland Estates quickly becoming a reality

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - Twenty-seven homes in three years.

Michael Mohrfeld will tell you he just builds as he sells, but a look at the Woodland Heights project he's building right on top of the bluff above Bluff Road in Fort Madison says he's got a bit more in mind.

And this isn't just a man filling a market, he's not sparing a lot of expense.

"These places should have a quality of life factor," Mohrfeld said Friday morning, while a crew of about five framers crawled on the top section of his first duplex on the north side of the River View condominiums. A three-unit complex is already built at the top of a winding drive up Bluff Road and peeks out among the tree tops with a vast view of the tree-topped city below.

A pond on the north side of the development will serve as a marquee anchor to the properties. Mohrfeld's putting in a cement ring around the south side of the pond, first as a safety measure in the unlikely event a car would get loose off the curb, but moreso as a place for future owners to get together if they choose.

"I think we'll probably put a fire ring in down there and let it serve as a gathering place. We're already putting some fish in there and we're gonna keep stocking it."

But the pond is just part of the eye-candy provided with being on top of the city in the newest condo development by Green Oak Development, Mohrfelds' company that's been responsible for more than 20 new homes on 33rd Avenue in Fort Madison and a handful in West Point.

Mohrfeld said he started building the homes because he was hearing a need for the homes while dealing with contractors as part of the Mohrfeld Electric Company.

"I just kept listening to people see that this community needed new housing," he said. "I think what I was hearing was that a lot of people were settling for homes that were older because that's all that was on the market. They said someone needed to take a risk and well... I decided to take the risk."

So Mohrfeld started building homes on the south side of Bluff Road in the 3000 block. As he started planning for the construction, he started planning $125K to $150K homes on a slate foundation, trying to keep the prices affordable. But when he started showing the homes, people said they loved what he was doing, but they wanted basements. So he changed up the designs and started including basements, which pushed the price on some of the homes, but he was still having success selling them.

He said a lot of the purchases aren't new families moving into the area, but current residents looking not at downsizing, but trying to find something newer with less maintenance and upkeep required. He targets the 55 and over demographic

The new development on top of the bluff will incorporate a homeowners association fee that will take care of all maintenance and upkeep of the neighborhood.

Mohrfeld said that would amount to $175 per month, $50 of which would be for insurance on the building itself. Condominium owners would need to carry their own insurance policy on the interior furnishings. The condos start at just over $300k.

The condos range from two to three-car garages. There will ultimately be three tri-plexes on the southside of the development and two duplexes in the multi-family unit part of the development. West of that construction will ultimately be single-family units, but Mohrfeld said he won't start those until the other condos are sold.

On the way up the road a cul-de-sac has been leveled and planned on the northeast part of the property where homes will face the turn around with rear facing views of the west side of Fort Madison. From that vantage point homeowners will be able to see all the way to the industrial tract by Siemens and Climax Molybdenum.

Inside, the condos are open floor designs with large 9-foot windows to take advantage of the lofty view of Fort Madison and the Mississippi River. Open kitchen designs feature island sink set ups with full size pantry closets and quartz countertops. Master bedrooms are on the walk-in main floor with private seated showers and dual sinks. And although the completed unit is ready staging and viewing, future condominiums can be custom-built tailored to personal tastes and needs.

All the units have an upper wooden deck and lower stamped-concrete patio out of the lower floors. Large storage areas, a full open living section, and have two to three bedrooms on the lower floor. A utility/laundry room is located nicely on the main floor near the entrance with an entry way off the master bath for efficiency.

As work progresses to the west, Mohrfeld has already had the foundations cut for the next two three-unit condos and is sculpting the ground for the single family units on the far edge of the development.

He is holding an open house on Saturday, Oct 28-30th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., where several of the units in the first completed condos will be ready for viewing with information available on the development site.

Mohrfeld shows the extra large living and storage space on the first level of the condominiums in Woodland Estates. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

A retention pond was built on the south side of the development to help control runoff from heavy rains. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Mohrfeld shows wear the last cul-de-sac development is planned for the project with rear views that reveals views 10 miles to the southwest. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

An open house is planned for Oct. 28-30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for one of the newly constructed turn-key condos. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Bluff Road, development, fort madison, Green Oak Development, housing, Michael Mohrfeld, Pen City Current, River View Condos, Woodland Estates

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