A housing study performed by the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies in Monmouth has concluded and was presented at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The study encompasses housing, labor, and economic statistics. It concluded that there is potential for an estimated 50-75 additional housing units in and around Monmouth with for-sale prices ranging from $150,000-$200,000.
City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher recognizes the potential for growth, but realizes that the process could take time.
“Maybe it’s one or two houses at a time, but that’s how you do it. For us to hope that we’re going to get a developer that’s going to put up a 75-lot subdivision, that’s probably going to be a difficult stretch. But if we can do two, three, four, five at a time, I think that’s how we start to actively work on these numbers,” Steinbrecher stated.
Downtown improvements were the number one requested improvements by Monmouth residents in the study. Home sales are showing positive signs of a market recovery, with single family three bedroom, two bathroom homes being the most desired type of home according to the study.
As for possible locations for housing units, Mayor Rod Davies shared a list of possibilities:
“The city owns 7 1/2 acres out there just north of the high-rises between that and the AmericInn, we have 7 1/2 acres there. Around Citizens Lake is in the new enterprise zone. There are some farm fields on the bypass. There is some ground off of Sunnylane that would certainly be available,” he said.
For more information on the housing study, the 79-page long report can be found online at cityofmonmouth.com.
written by Jackson Kane
