Adel Kuchyk — Staff Writer  

When Eric Tudor, director of emerging markets at Dordt University, graduated from Dordt College nearly 12 years ago, he chose to stay in Sioux Center. The hometown of his alma mater offered a healthy economy, diversified industry, well-aligned values, a safe community, and the promise of affordable housing.  

“My wife and I purchased our first home for a little over $130,000. Today, it’s difficult to find homes that sell for less than twice that,” Tudor said.  

Sioux Center’s population has grown by more than 1,000 residents since 2012. Over one-fourth of Dordt graduates choose to stay in Sioux Center, after graduation according to Tudor.  

Even with this growth, the city’s population density has decreased. Many new housing developments have focused on larger, single-occupancy housing.   

Almost all the housing stock added to the town over the past decade has been one-third acre or larger lots, with three to four-bedroom houses exceeding 1,500 square feet. Young individuals and families may be looking for smaller and more affordable options.  

 According to Donna De Weerd, a realtor at Vision Reality, a Sioux Center-based real estate agency, housing North of Sioux Center started as affordable 2-3 bedroom housing. However many families finished their basements with additional rooms, which caused an increase in value.  

“A decade ago, many young people would have been homeowners by now. Instead, they’re paying mortgage-like apartment rental rates,” Tudor said. “When they do choose to buy, they’re typically buying in surrounding communities, sending their children to schools in those communities, and spending their money there as well. These, I believe, are missed opportunities for Sioux Center that we should continue working to overcome.”  

The main challenge for the city is to deal with the high demand for housing and create opportunities that appeal to a younger generation—one where Dordt students and graduates make up a large portion.  

Some residents, including homeowner Eric Vander Schaaf, have opened up sections of their homes to young renters to create another housing opportunity.  

“My first time renting out my basement brought 70 people interested,” said Vander Schaaf. With housing in such high demand, he wishes the city would be more attentive towards new ideas for housing.  

“The city is not doing something wrong, but it is a big challenge. We need to push them a bit to think outside the box,” Vander Schaaf said.   

Vander Schaaf wonders if a tax incentive program could help the city meet the varied housing needs of the community. A tax program could incentivize investors to build a fourplex or convert a single-family property into multi-family housing.  

A fourplex is similar in size to a big house but split in four. Fourplexes are convenient for investors, as they would only need to maintain one property, but can rent out four units. Each separate unit in a fourplex is a cheaper option for first-time home buyers, as they are more affordable for a starter home budget.  

“It is uncommon to find smaller lots, but [the city] could create them, if there is a demand,” De Weerd said.   

It’s not an easy answer for the city of Sioux Center. Supporting growth in a community is a multi-faceted project. City leaders, including development director Dennis Dokter, said housing solutions are in the works.  

“Zoning plays purposeful guidelines,” Dennis Dokter, Sioux Center’s development director said. “You can’t build a restaurant on a single-family lot. The neighborhoods are created within the city ordinance, and there are places where children are playing on the playground and where businesses are.”  

Some areas in Sioux Center are zoned so that converting a larger house into a fourplex would be plausible, while in other zones the changes would fall outside of the code for the zone.  

“As much as it is a housing issue, it is the issue of the abnormal amount of people coming. But the city is trying to help.” Dokter said.  

The city is hoping to build smaller lots for smaller homes, that are zoned appropriately for condos and apartments, according to Dokter. Dordt’s new townhomes may be an example of a type of housing that Sioux Center can build.  

“I believe that Dordt’s new townhomes can help answer our need on two fronts; both as a physical solution and an ideological one. While the townhomes may only serve a few dozen students, the model could be reproduced: a walkable distance to many of the town’s amenities, parking placed in the back to create a residential environment, and reduced front yard setbacks efficiently utilize space and calm traffic,” Tudor said.  

Vision Builders, the construction company Dordt is partnering with for the Townhomes, practiced thinking outside of conventional rural design when they built the Woodbridge retirement community, on the Southeast side of Sioux Center.  

“It’s funny, but what works for retirees ironically also works well for young people. While people my age with young families may desire a larger yard and house, younger and older residents, often without children, want to be nearer to the action. They yearn for intentional community with their neighbors, and they desire a simpler housing solution.” Tudor said.  

Vision Builder’s architectural designer Elizabeth Van Bruggen shared, that a lot of Woodbridge’s concept was to provide small-scale housing, built around walkability. The Woodbridge houses were designed to help couples downsize from their 2-3 bedroom homes into smaller homes. This allowed their previous homes to be put back on the market.