<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2twWdK_1Gzfyt7X00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2twWdK_1Gzfyt7X00" width="1662" height="1247" ><figcaption>Sign in front of Overlook Apartments in Le Mars. Photo taken on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Photo by Kadin Luhmann Kadin Luhmann</figcaption></figure>LE MARS — The current housing market in Le Mars faces significant shortages in both rental and entry-level availability.Overlook Apartments, a brand-new apartment complex with 100 units, was filled to capacity within just 60 days after opening on Feb. 11, 2026, according to Le Mars Community Development director Mark Gaul.Gaul added that Le Mars landlords Hugh Morrow and Joe Galles report extremely few vacancies in their units.The demand for apartments and entry-level housing in Le Mars is extremely high.Gaul said the city’s labor sheds will tell city officials that 3,500 people commute to Le Mars for work every day, with some traveling up to 35 miles.“I have talked before about the number of people that are driving to Le Mars to work, either at Wells or BoDeans or wherever it is. The manufacturers’ internal surveys tell them that the majority of those people that drive to town would consider living here if the right choice was there,” Gaul said. “They’re obviously not living here, so the right choice hasn’t been there.”Housing is a competitive market, and cities need to incentivize developers to come build in their city.Gaul said Le Mars is no different, and if the city did not incentivize, developers will choose to go somewhere else, and so will people if there is not enough housing.“Developers are in it to get a return on their investment for their investors or their company or whatever that is, and so there has to be some involvement from the city, whether it be single family housing, multifamily housing, or whatnot, and then involvement from the state, and then you have to have a willing developer, a little nudge from the city, whether it be through a tax abatement or whatnot, and then the state has tax credit programs that help incentivize,” Gaul said. “When you bring all three of those entities together, you can make it so it’s feasible.”Tax abatements are temporary reductions or eliminations of property or business taxes, which Gaul said the abatements Le Mars offers are a “little but less” than other communities.“For example, a housing developer comes into town and wants to put in a housing development, such as Steve Schuster with his Dogwood developments. The city will assist with a portion of the infrastructure. We’ll pay for a portion of the sewer, and we’ll pay for a portion of the storm sewer, and we’ll pay for a portion of the water,” Gaul said. “And then the homeowner that builds a house and lives in it will get a five-year abatement on the first $75,000 worth of taxable value.”“Now, if it’s a multifamily developer, a multifamily developer is a developer that creates three or more units at a time for rent,” he added. “Those multifamily developers could be apartments, could be senior housing, could be duplexes, triplexes, whatever those might be. The City of Le Mars offers a seven-year abatement to them, and you know many of the communities, most of the communities around us have some sort of an abatement program to incentivize those people. Ours is a little bit less than other communities, but it is enough to draw people.”Gaul said he hears criticism from citizens regarding apartments, with a common complaint being that some people may believe people who live in apartments will not be “invested” in the community of Le Mars.“I understand the argument that we don’t want everybody to live in apartments. I want people to be invested in our community. I want it to, which is why we have to create a variety of housing in a community, which is why we’re doing the different projects that we’re doing,” Gaul said. “Apartment projects can go quicker than developing bare land because you take a farm field and develop it. That takes a couple of years. A piece of ground in town that has all the infrastructure there, you can build a building there a lot faster, and so now the other areas have to catch up, and we’re well on our way to doing that.”Currently, the City of Le Mars is also attempting to mitigate housing shortages with targeted residential projects, including the Homestead Meadows project, Parkview Terrace, South Greenview Estates by Willow Creek and Dogwood Properties, LLC.The 100-acre Homestead Meadows project being developed by Highway K49 will create 36 smaller lots intended for more affordable entry-level houses. The project will be developed in phases, with the goal eventually for the lot to accommodate 320 single-family homes.For other projects, a developer has received state tax credits to build a manufactured home community north of Parkview Terrace mobile home park by the summer of 2027.“We’re working towards that next summer, and that’ll provide another form of entry-level housing,” Gaul said. “So, you’ve got your entry-level housing; it’s different forms, whether it be rental housing, manufactured housing, which is less expensive than a sit-built house.”Gaul also discussed housing options for seniors, saying the idea behind that is if somebody 55 or older leaves their four or five bedroom home to move to a condo, that frees up those houses.“Joe Galles is finishing up a 55 plus apartment by the golf course, his Greenview Estates, and he’s advertising that there’s availability there,” Gallus said “Steve Schuster in the Dogwood area developed a neighborhood where there’s going to be 55 plus duplexes, which he’ll start building those duplexes next spring. We as leadership have been working towards different types of housing and multifamily housing.”</div></body>

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LE MARS — The current housing market in Le Mars faces significant shortages in both rental and entry-level availability. Overlook Apartments, a brand-new apartment complex with 100 units, was filled to capacity within just 60 days after opening on Feb. 11, 2026, according to Le Mars Community Development director Mark Gaul.

Developing apartments in Le Mars

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LE MARS — The current housing market in Le Mars faces significant shortages in both rental and entry-level availability. Overlook Apartments, a brand-new a

Developing apartments in Le Mars

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