The Perry City Council approved at their most recent meeting a request for proposals to create a multi-residential development on a city owned property. 

City Administrator Sven Peterson says that they are looking at the lot located on Willis Avenue, east of Hamlin Bell Apartments for a potential housing project. Peterson explains they have created a packet and sent it to developers hoping to get responses for building proposals on that lot. 

“One of the most common things that everybody is saying is, ‘We need housing for our employees. We can barely keep the employees that we have, let alone get new employees to come and fill empty positions.’ So we really want to do everything we can to try and get some housing to be able to help our major employers and small employers too.”

Peterson also talks about what type of housing they’re looking for in a proposal. 

“General multifamily. So it could be more of that traditional apartment style. But we’ve also kind of put out some concepts of a townhome row home style that might kind of be a nice transition from that single family home around to that multifamily home of Hamlin Bell on that same block. So we’re kind of open to whatever. We’re excited to see what we will get .”

He says they have put together a panel of six representatives that includes the mayor, at-large councilor, economical director, a building official and himself to review proposals and make recommendations. Peterson notes that multi-residential development provides the most units per lot, and they identified this type of development as the most advantageous in addressing the city’s housing concerns.