Realtor says interest in townhome development also highlights low inventory of living spaces in Quincy

QUINCY — Max Dancer says the interest in the Brewhaus Townhomes development at Eighth and Jersey is emblematic of the needs of the Quincy housing market.

The 34 townhomes are the result of a $7.5 million project that was greenlighted in March 2023. Happel Realtors was the host of a public open house on Thursday night, and a business and corporate relations open house will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.

Dancer, a commercial real estate broker for Happel Realtors, expects each of the townhomes to be completed by the end of March. His goal is for 90 percent of the units to be occupied by summertime. He believes that figure is attainable because of the low housing inventory throughout the city.

Great River Economic Development Foundation President/CEO Kyle Moore told the Adams County Board in August 2023 that Adams County is in desperate need of housing in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range and that it is lacking in two- to three-bedroom apartments. The Brewhaus Townhomes address those needs.

“(The number of affordable homes) is probably even lower now than what it was a year ago,” Dancer said. “We’ve seen the GREDF housing studies come out. Being a realtor and kind of understanding the market, we still have very, very low inventory on the housing side. Take a look at Facebook and type in ‘rentals available.’ Go see how many people are looking for rentals. 

“I’d love for every developer to start putting in affordable housing, but I also understand things are expensive.”

Dancer says all kinds of people have shown interest in the townhomes, ranging from QU students and/or their parents looking at housing possibilities for the fall 2024 semester to business professionals, young professionals and people aged 55 and older.

“It’s been a hodgepodge,” he said. “A lot of it is just gauging interest, putting out the feelers and investigating what it really is.”

Dancer said he believes as many as 25 percent of the units will be corporate rentals.

“A business could rent it out for their employees, whether it’s travelers, technicians, maintenance crews, anyone like that who’s probably going to be here on a longer-term basis,” he said. “Then you’ve got intern seasons coming up, so a lot of people are going to be looking for that. There’s not much available to park them in a spot for a few months.”

The two-bedroom, 2½-bathroom townhomes totaling approximately 1,875 square feet will be rented for $2,000 a month for a 12-month lease. Each unit has a kitchen with a stove, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher and full-sized washer/dryer. They all have one-car attached garages and a dedicated outdoor patio space. Townhome residents also will have access to an on-site fitness center.

Construction began shortly after the Quincy City Council pledged $926,850 in TIF dollars to the project. That money paid for new sidewalks, streetlights and street trees surrounding the development, as well as water and sewer lines. Aldermen also voted to use money from the American Rescue Plan Act to pay for building permit fees, water connection fees and sewer connection fees.

Dancer said the interest in the townhomes is encouraging in many ways.

“I love seeing it, because we’ve got a lot of cool developments going on right now,” he said. “We have the trampoline park. We just got Target done. We have View21 coming, and now we have this project. I mean, if that doesn’t excite you about your community, then what are you going to get excited about?

“A lot of people have driven by here to see how fast this thing has progressed and how fast they’ve gotten done. I think that just shows that this can happen, and it can happen fast. Houses are needed. Apartments are needed. We have a lot of older homes that need a lot of help. You’re going to start fixing up those homes, or you’re going to start building new. That’s what life is now. That’s the world we live in.”