101 project hits dead end

State officials have hammered the final nail in the coffin for a proposed $4.1 million housing project in downtown Hampton.
KL Holdings owners Kyle Pralle and Landon Plagge received word on Thursday that the Iowa Economic Development Association (IEDA) will not allow the business to change ownership in hopes of saving The 101 project. Pralle and Plagge had announced on Monday that they would not proceed with the project due to unexpected construction costs and public opposition, but they were open to giving the business to another individual or group if the potential investor wanted to proceed with The 101.
KL Holdings had received a $3.1 million grant from the IDEA to assist with the project. Pralle, Plagge and other local officials hoped that by transferring ownership of KL Holdings, a new investor could retain the grant.
However, Franklin County Development Assocation Director Karen Mitchell announced late Thursday afternoon the project was dead.
 “I received an email from NIACOG advising us the state will not allow a change in partners on KL Holdings. Although they have done it before, they won't this time,” she wrote in an email. “This is the end of the project.”
Despite slim odds, The 101 did receive some interest this week before state officials put the kibosh on the project.
“We were working some possible angles on a transaction of ownership before they informed us that wouldn’t be allowed,” Mitchell said in a follow-up interview.
Mitchell did not comment on the identity of the potential investors.