Sioux City, Iowa — Construction is underway on two new housing projects in Sioux City to help ease the housing crunch, but many more units are needed in northwest Iowa — and statewide.
Amy Keairns, the neighborhood services supervisor for the City of Sioux City, says they’re helping developers pay for two apartment buildings, including converting an old high school.
Keairns says that demand extends throughout the state. The two projects will also include a total of eight units for people who are homeless, including outreach services.
Sioux City awarded two contractors more than one-point-two million dollars in American Rescue Plan money to help pay for the two apartment buildings. Keairns says she wishes they could do more.
The apartments will be ready for people to move in next year. The Iowa Finance Authority estimates that by 2030, there will be a statewide shortage of 55-thousand rental homes for lower-income Iowans. Now, more than 20% of the lowest earners spend more than half of their income on housing.
