There was a five-year period earlier this decade that the City of Perry had a total of zero new houses built, causing a great deal of concern for City staff. It was at that time the City Council approved an aggressive ten-year tax abatement program, and over the last three years the growth in Perry has been easy to see.

The first year of the abatement, there were three new houses built, which City Administrator Sven Peterson joked was a 300% increase in housing stock. However, that joke proved to be predictive, as in the second year there were nine new houses in Perry. The trend continued once again this year, as there are currently no fewer than 27 houses and new developments being constructed. Peterson says while it’s unlikely that will jump by another 300% to 81 houses next year, it’s still a positive trend that was jumpstarted by the tax abatement.

“It’s working. You know, we kind of had nothing for so long, it’s fun to see that growth happening. It’s a little bit of delayed gratification, but here before we know it those first couple of houses are going to start coming on the tax rolls and we’re going to see that growth. The other thing to keep in mind is a lot of people, I’ve heard from other communities, really only focus (on) that they don’t pay taxes. But you know, they’re paying their water bill just like everybody else, their sewer, garbage, stormwater, they’re getting memberships at the rec center. But then they’re also going out and spending money in our community. So they’re going out to eat, they’re going shopping, they’re buying groceries. And that’s really some of the important things that happen from growing the population.”

Peterson adds, as the population of the City grows, the opportunities to bring in more amenities increases. He says it’s possible that in the next couple years there could be some larger chain stores and restaurants that will call Perry home, which will be good for the City overall. He also points out that the program is due to sunset in 2026, though the Council may decide to extend that to give developers more opportunities to build. To learn more about this and other topics involving the City of Perry, click the link below to listen to the most recent Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Peterson.

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2019/09/17/lets-talk-dallas-county-9-17-2019-sven-peterson/