Groundbreaking for StudioOne Townhomes

oundbreaking ceremony was held in recognition of the recent advancements being made in the Woodland Hills II Subdivision on the north side of town.
Red Oak Mayor Shawnna Silvius opened the ceremony by reminding all attendees that it has been approximately 20 years since a groundbreaking was held for this subdivision. The last time dirt was moved into this area was in 2005.
“I felt it was an opportunity for us to celebrate these wins, because these are things that happen because of everybody that’s here today and all of the different entities and organizations that it takes to put these projects together,” she said.
After opening the ceremony, Silvius acknowledged the key organizations that have contributed to this project. She first recognized Woodbridge Development Corporation representatives Ryan Funke, Ryan Ebemeyer and Jeff Schreiner.
Speaking on behalf of Woodbridge Development, Funke said that shortly after finishing a similar housing development in Nebraska City, the organization toured around 15 other communities before deciding to begin its next project in Red Oak.
According to Funke, Woodbridge Development decided to build in Red Oak because of the confidence it has in Red Oak’s residents.
“We can build the houses, and we’re pretty confident people will rent them, but there’s so much that has to happen,” he said. “We went to the community that had the best support.”
Following this statement, Funke continued to thank the community for its support. He then proceeded to assure everyone that this subdivision project will be of great benefit to Red Oak in the long run.
“At the end, we will deliver a great product that we can be proud of, and then the community of Red Oak will be proud of it,” he said. “We’re just so grateful to everybody and excited to be a part of this.”
Once Funke delivered all messages on behalf of Woodbridge Development, Silvius thanked the Red Oak City Council for looking into the financing mechanism to be used in helping to invest in this project. She said the biggest challenge associated with projects involving infrastructure is finding ways for the city to incentivize them.
The next organization acknowledged at the ceremony was JEO Consulting. Isaac Kriekemeier, Scott Hrabik and Danny Sturm were each given thanks for facilitating the design process.
Kreikemeier, the project manager for the development’s design, said the first kickoff meeting between JEO and the city was held in August of 2023. Now, the construction group is working on hauling 24,000 cubic yards of dirt offsite, placing utilities and paving. Kreikemeier said he hopes to have this wrapped up by November.
Each of the JEO Consulting representatives said they hope to see occupancy in the fall of 2025 and have the project completely finished in early 2026.
Kreikemeier continued, saying that the first 33 units will be done by the early 2026 target date. He also said that if the project’s phases continue going well, the construction group will “keep going north with those cul-de-sac lots of duplexes.”
To wrap up his discussion, Kreikemeier acknowledged that Hrabik has been completing part-time inspections to ensure that the subdivision development is of high quality.
Before giving recognition to other organizations that will contribute to the new housing development, Silvius clarified with Funke that East Shore Management is the construction company that will be managing the property and providing services moving forward.
“Other partners in this will be Mid-American Energy on the electric side, also a cable company (Mediacom), and Farmers Mutual will be putting in fiber,” Silvius said.
After hearing from each of the representatives present, Silvius said this project started with a housing readiness assessment grant and research from the Montgomery County Development Corporation.
“Getting new housing and new property valuations on the ground is really, really important for the city, for our general fund,” she said. “That is where the majority of the revenue for the city comes in is from property tax revenue … that is why we as a city council invested in this project.”
Before wrapping up the ceremony, Silvius took a moment to thank Marty and Larry Barnett, who were the individuals who had this property available.
“A project of this size would never be possible without the partnership and collaboration of everybody involved and everybody’s willingness to be open and excited,” she said.