The Duluth City Council voted 8 to 1 Monday night to move forward with the Incline Village project after hearing public comment.

The Incline Village is a proposed housing development at the hilltop location of the former Central High School.

The developers of the project are Chester Creek View and Incline Plaza Development.

During public comment prior to the vote, Matt Baumgartner with the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce voiced his support for the project.

“The Incline Village development is not just a construction project with tax base growth,” said Baumgartner. “It is a step towards addressing some of our most pressing needs housing, child care, inclusion and workforce development.”

Others, however, voiced some concern and said that they wanted to make sure affordable housing would be factored into the project.

The proposal is in three phases. The first phase would be the building of 13-hundred new housing units. The second phase would include adding 30,000 square feet of retail space. The third phase would add an additional 220 apartment units or a senior housing building.

The construction could start by this summer and families could begin to move in by summer of 2025.

The Duluth Economic Development Authority had already signed off on the proposal for building 1,300 housing units.

City Councilor Arik Forsman said that property tax values will increase to help fund some of the public infrastructure like roads and utilities.

Additional information on the project can be found here.