It would have been unthinkable 30 years ago to see what Jamestown’s housing market has become.

There was a time when home values in much of the city were, at best, stagnant. Some ended up selling their homes for less than their original purchase price. Those looking to purchase homes could, in many cases, take their time through the home buying process because many homes would sit on the open market for months. A scant couple of years before the COVID-19 pandemic the glut of housing was enough of a problem that the developers of the Gateway Lofts project had to pay to demolish housing units before the city would allow the project to proceed.

Things have changed.

Jamestown’s housing market has gone from ice cold to boiling hot in the span of a few years. While there are still eyesore homes that need to be taken down, there is now a scarcity of affordable housing – especially for those who want to rent rather than own a home.

Now, we’re anxiously awaiting construction of the Gateway Lofts to help boost supply of affordable housing. And, rather than focusing almost exclusively on housing demolitions, city officials are giving serious thought to ways to boost the supply of affordable housing through the development of tiny homes. Crystal Surdyk, city development director, recently discussed the city’s progress on tiny homes with City Council members. While construction isn’t likely to start imminently, progress is being made. The city is looking to assemble vacant parcels and parcels that are in the midst of being cleared that would be good sites for modular home developments. The city is also talking to modular home builders and evaluating grant opportunities.

“I think we are pretty close to getting ready to say ‘Let’s start building,'” Surdyk said.

That’s good. There is a segment of the city’s population that is looking for smaller, affordable housing options, but the price right now is more than the market can bear. That’s what happens when demand outpaces supply. It’s time for supply to catch up a bit.

But we have to be careful, too. Over the past couple of years we’ve written about the city’s efforts to better market Country View Estates, a 1990s-era housing development project aimed at boosting the city’s taxable assessment by creating new building lots for larger homes on the outskirts of the city. Many of the lots went unused, leaving city officials a generation later trying to close the project out and recoup the city’s original investment. Any new construction is good, but we’re sure city officials didn’t think there would be vacant lots in the upscale housing development area 30 years later.

Surdyk, council members and Mayor Kim Ecklund will be trying to make sure the site assembly for modular, tiny homes doesn’t suffer the same fate. There is certainly a need right now for tiny homes and affordable apartments like the Gateway Lofts. But going too far could leave the city holding a half-empty bag.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.