A new rental community is planned in Norwalk, a Warren County community whose officials want to offer an array of housing options to potential residents.

Hubbell Realty Co. plans to begin construction in early 2025 on Callaway, a $32 million apartment and rental townhome development that will be part of the master-planned neighborhood called Holland Pointe. Callaway will include 58 rental townhomes and 90 apartment units spread through two, three-story buildings.

Callaway will also include a community clubhouse, swimming pool, fitness center, dog park and garages for residents.

Holland Pointe, a 120-acre master-planned community that Hubbell began developing in 2022, is in northeast Norwalk along Beardsley Street. When completed, the community will include over 500 single-family houses, townhomes, apartments and villas. The community will also include pocket parks and walking and bike trails that connect to Elizabeth Holland Park.

“We hope to provide a mixture of apartments and townhomes that really give the renter more choice in where and how they live,” said Matt Weller, vice president of development with Hubbell, in a news release.

As Norwalk’s population grows, more apartment units and other types of rental units will be needed, said Luke Nelson, Norwalk’s city manager.

In 2020, Norwalk’s estimated population was 12,800, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2023, the bureau estimated the community’s population at 14,873, a 16% increase. Norwalk’s population in 2033 is expected to reach over 25,861 residents, according to city officials.

Historically, about 18% of Norwalk’s housing stock has been high density or apartments, Nelson said. To keep that ratio as the population grows, Norwalk needs to add about 75 apartment units a year. “If we are going to continue to draw people to Norwalk, maintaining that percentage [of apartments] is important,” he said.

Having a variety of housing options also entices young families to move to the community, Nelson said. “By having apartments and some smaller, lower-priced homes, you’re allowing people to start their family in this community, get their kids started in school and keep [families] in one location. If we’re missing one segment of that housing type — the lower end — you can’t do that, which can cause some problems.”

Not all of Norwalk’s residents support adding more apartment units, Nelson said. Some residents are concerned about increased enrollment in schools and additional traffic on streets.

Some residents also complain about the community’s property tax rates, Nelson said. “High-density housing can actually be a part of balancing our tax base. Not because apartments pay higher property taxes but because the additional population drives more commercial business, which drives a balanced tax base.”

Hubbell’s Callaway apartments, which will be located on the southwest corner of Waller Avenue and Sayre Drive, will include 12 efficiency units, 42 one-bedroom units, 24 two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units.

Another apartment development in Norwalk is the Legacy Circle Apartments, planned on about 7 acres along Colonial Circle in north-central Norwalk. The site has sat empty for 23 years since the adoption of the Legacy Planned Unit Development, according to Norwalk city documents.

The development by Des Moines-based Nelson Construction & Development is proposed to include a five-story apartment building with 190 units. The market-rate project will include 20 studio units, 60 one-bedroom units, 91 two-bedroom units and 18 three-bedroom units.

Construction of the project is expected to begin in early 2025, said Nelson, who is not affiliated with the construction company. The project has received all of the necessary city approvals, he said.