PERRYVILLE, SIKESTON TO GET HOUSING

Finding the perfect house or apartment is hard to do, but making it affordable is sometimes even more difficult.

Under a newly developed program, Perryville soon will have 46 affordable housing units. Sikeston will get 20

Earlier this year, the two cities were approved for affordable housing loans through a new program sponsored by the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

Perryville received $450,000 for a 46-lot subdivision near Breeze Drive and Smith Street. The loan is spread over a three-year period.

Under the program, loans are made directly to the city. But that wasn't the case in Perryville; the loan couldn't be made to the city because it was more than a one-year loan, said Craig Lindsley, city administrator. Without a statewide vote, the housing commission couldn't give the city a direct loan, so the Perryville Development Corp,, a private company, will manage the construction project.

"There are no problems in this world, just opportunities," Lindsley said. "And this is an opportunity for us to step back and go a different direction."

The city and the corporation are accepting applications for construction from area developers until Wednesday.

Subdivision lots would sell for about $10,000 and homes would cost between $60,000 and $75,000.

The emphasis on single-family housing began with a population study. Midwest Research Institute of Kansas City tried to determine why jobs had increased so quickly in Perryville but population hadn't. The conclusion was a lack of affordable housing.

The city hopes to correct that problem with the help of the loan.

Senior citizens in Sikeston also will be able to find better housing now that construction of a new apartment complex has been approved. Sikeston received $500,000 to fund construction of the 20-apartment development.

The Westridge Senior Apartments will be on the west side of town.

The Business Research Institute in Sikeston applied for the $500,000 grant through the Missouri Housing Development Commission. Construction is expected to start after the new year.

More than 19 percent of the rental housing units in Southeast Missouri are built through Missouri Housing Development Commission programs.