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Council hears planning office on housing pipeline, CDBG/HOME balances and Baker subdivision lots
Summary
Planning staff told the council that single‑family production has slowed, several affordable projects are coming online, CDBG and HOME balances are substantial and that the city must plan how to deploy funds and sell Baker subdivision lots in 2025 without violating timeliness rules.
Kelly (Planning Department staff) briefed the Ames City Council on housing production, federal program balances and options for moving vacant city lots toward construction.
Kelly said single‑family home starts have declined for three consecutive years and attributed the slowdown to sustained higher mortgage rates. Council members were told that most apartment projects already approved will come online in 2025–26 and that the largest private proposal under discussion remains the multi‑phase Link project, which could start building in 2026 if it proceeds.
On federally supported housing programs, staff summarized balances and constraints. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds remain unspent in part because major projects—most notably a water main…
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