Perryville worries about lack of housing causing future problems

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A perceived housing squeeze in Perryville has city leaders looking for the best path toward creating more residential development, especially for its senior population.

Housing complex developers, residents, city officials and economic development representatives met Friday to talk about local demand for senior housing versus availability, which officials say is influencing the city's overall housing.

The Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission is nearing the end of a six-month study on housing in the city, requested by officials as they work to understand the needs of current and future residents as they relate to the area's economic development successes and growth potential.

Perry County is the 19th-fastest-growing county in Missouri, said city administrator Brent Buerck, which is significant because many other counties, by population estimates, aren't growing. Between 2010 and 2013, Perry County ranked first in the state in median household income growth, economic studies reported. The average unemployment rate in the county is low, and homeownership among residents is around 70 percent.

The county is home to large industrial companies such as Gilster-Mary Lee and TG Missouri, which employ about 1,500 people each, and has quickly-growing companies such as Robinson Construction, which added its 500th employee late last year.

Another factor, Buerck said, is Perryville is beginning to draw more recent college graduates, with employers such as Citizens Electric and The Bank of Missouri conducting more business in the city.

The city itself has a population just over 8,300, according to current estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

City leaders say there do not appear to be enough senior housing options in the city to meet potential demand, which causes a ripple effect in the housing market. As no desirable alternatives are available, seniors won't put their moderately priced homes up for sale, locking up the market for the younger population in search of a first home or an upgrade from a starter home.

Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission deputy director David Grimes said local seniors he's spoken to about housing have features in mind when contemplating a move to downsize or relocate to a property with less maintenance needed.

"They want two bedrooms, two baths, an open floor plan, an attached garage and not a lot of yard," Grimes said. "They are also open to a homeowners association-type of agreement, a senior-dedicated subdivision or complex."

Jason Maddox, executive vice president of MACO Development, built a 36-unit housing complex in Perryville that opened in 2011. Maddox said the complex has 33 of the 36 original tenants still living there and more than 30 people on a waiting list for a unit.

"The waiting list isn't indicative of demand," Maddox said, "because many people who call and want to rent don't even get on when they hear it's long."

At the same time there is a seemingly high demand for senior housing, some seniors own more house and land than they want to care for, and some with even enough land they would like to sell for a housing development, said Debbie Gahan, a senior resident, who also is a former mayor of Perryville.

Complicating the outlook for Perryville is the city's limited ability to pay for infrastructure to aid new residential development. The city is focused on a large improvement of its public works instead, Buerck said.

Developer Chad Hartle, president of RCH Development Inc., suggested the city look into forming a community land trust that might allow for residential development by allowing ownership of land to separate from ownership of structures in a not-for-profit corporation.

Hartle also said the city should consider the limited resources developers have for costs such as infrastructure. They often decide to start a development based on the amount of public grant money they will receive, he said, current and forecast construction costs and, most importantly, demand in the market for units.

Hartle and Maddox, longtime developers in Southeast Missouri who have expanded their reach into other states, primarily build income-based developments for seniors.

Some in attendance Friday questioned whether new income-based residential housing units in the city would correlate with the incomes of residents, many of whom, Gahan said, are retired with multiple income sources and are interested in downsizing for convenience versus necessity.

The planning commission, Grimes said, expects to have the results of the housing study by summer's end. Buerck said he is hopeful the study results will "allow us to learn about ourselves and the outside to learn about us."

Part of the study is a survey for people who live and work in Perryville. The survey is available on the commission's website, semorpc.org.

The study costs $32,000, Buerck said, and several partners, including the Perry County Economic Development Authority, the Cape County Board of Realtors, Robinson Construction and TG Missouri helped the city pay for the study.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632

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215 N. West St., Perryville, Mo.