Photo by Deb Gau Property manager Julie Cox cut the ribbon at the new Stone Meadow Apartments, located on Clarice Avenue in Marshall. Marshall city officials and members of the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce toured the 108-unit complex on Wednesday.

MARSHALL — The managers of a new apartment complex in Marshall said the city had a couple of key things that developers were looking for.

“We like these kinds of communities,” said Josh, Koop, marketing manager at Prairie Lakes Management, LLC.

Prairie Lakes is the management company of the newly-completed Stone Meadow Apartments on Clarice Avenue behind Walmart. Koop said the developers of Stone Meadow gravitated toward communities where there were businesses recruiting employees, and a need for more housing for those employees. Marshall had both, he said.

On Wednesday, Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes, EDA Director Lauren Deutz and members of the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce toured Stone Meadow, and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the complex. The complex has three apartment buildings, with a total of 108 units, said representatives of Prairie Lakes Management.

“It’s really a nice addition to the community,” Byrnes said.

The apartment project was privately developed, without subsidies or funding support from the city, he said.

Koop said Prairie Lakes mananages about 3,300 housing units across Minnesota and into Iowa. Kuepers Construction, a family-owned business based in Brainerd, develops and builds rental housing, while Prairie Lakes manages the properties, he said.

During the tour, property manager Julie Cox said two buildings at Stone Meadow are currently open for tenants, with the third building opening in August. So far, the two open apartment buildings are about 50% occupied, she said.

Stone Meadow has a mix of market rate apartments, including studio apartments and different configurations of one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Cox said a mix of tenants have asked about or moved in at Stone Meadow.

“I’ve met a lot of people from out of town who are coming for work,” as well as some Southwest Minnesota State University students, she said. Cox said Stone Meadow is also getting inquiries for fall rentals.

Cox said each of the three apartment buildings at Stone Meadow had amenities like a community room, a gym and a library. Outdoors, the complex has a dog park, a playground area, and community gas grills that residents can use, she said. The three-story apartment buildings also have elevators, Cox said.

The need for more housing in Marshall is a challenge that has been discussed by the city in recent years. A 2021 housing study done for the Marshall EDA found a demand for up to 140 single family homes and up to 191 rental housing units in Marshall by 2030.

Koop said it has been positive to see the response of the Marshall community to the development of Stone Meadow Apartments.

“We’ve seen very consistent buy-in in the community,” he said. He said the buildings were filling up at a good pace.