With a one-month record of 19 single-family building permits in March and several developers planning mixed-use projects, Bondurant continues to grow steadily.

“We’ve had a strong residential market here,” said City Administrator Mark Arentsen, “and we expect it to continue.”

Bondurant has issued 36 permits through April, just shy of the 40 permits it issued in the same period of 2005, the town’s peak building year. Commercial development lags behind residential construction; several acres are available, but so far, no developers have filed for permits this year.

“We’re working on getting the population of the town increased as much as we can,” Arentsen said, “because that’s going to help generate more commercial activity.”

With a population just under 3,000, the city is planning to annex more than 1,000 acres this year to increase its size by 25 percent, most of which will go to residential developments.

Three major projects are:

• Hawthorne Crossing, a 30-acre mixed-use community southeast of U.S. Highway 65. An assisted-living apartment building is already under construction and will provide 40 one- and two-bedroom units this September. Twenty-five percent of the apartments are already leased, said Paul Willits. He and Joe Heffron operate Will-Ron Properties, the project’s developer. The rest of the 30 acres will encompass commercial development, including a site large enough for a big-box retailer such as a grocery store, two ponds and independent living condominium units and townhouses.

• C.O.V.E., a 100-acre development south of Hawthorne Crossing on U.S. 65 is less than half complete, with around 100 houses built and about 175 more lots available. The number of residents in the area is “at a point now where the commercial ground on U.S. 65 is desirable,” said developer Mike Adams Jr., owner of Adams Properties Inc. He plans to work with a broker at CB Richard Ellis/Hubbell Commercial to develop 17.5 acres zoned for commercial along Highway 65 with retail and service-oriented businesses, such as a restaurant or dry cleaner. Bondurant National Bank, now leasing space, purchased one of the lots and could begin construction of its office this fall.

• Petoka Lake, a development north of Lake Petoka along U.S. 65, is Jerry’s Homes Inc.’s first project in the area. The developer has been waiting for the city to build infrastructure up to the property, and after a water line is added this summer, construction could begin in early 2008. The development will include about eight acres of commercial development along the highway, 20 acres of multifamily buildings and 45 to 50 acres of single-family houses. An intersection with a traffic light will eventually be added to the highway.

Jeffrey Grubb, manager of land development at Jerry’s Homes, said, “We anticipate that that can be a northern gateway into Bondurant.”

Several other residential projects could get under way soon, including a 26-acre housing development called Efnor Estates on the northwest side of Bondurant, and a 150-unit condominium complex north of town.

A few commercial projects are in the works as well. The city has approved a site plan for a 39,000-square-foot building for Urbandale-based Burke’s Outsourcing & Returns, which will be located in the city’s center near the cemetery, and an Irish pub is about to be constructed next to the Casey’s General Store on Grant Street.

Developers say they are interested in building in Bondurant because of its appealing tax abatements – the city offers a 100 percent tax exemption on the actual value added by commercial projects for three years and 80 percent for residential – as well as a small-town location with easy access to major cities.

The city also is engaged in several projects, including a new library and a new building to house the police and fire departments. Bondurant residents approved a $2.3 million bond referendum for the facilities in March, and Arentsen said he expects bids to go out for the work this summer.

All of this development promises to make the town one of the fastest-growing communities in Central Iowa.

“I think the people that now are saying they wish they had been in Waukee 10 years ago will be saying the same thing about Bondurant in the next 10 years,” Willits said.