An excess of apartments has been springing up in Ames recently, and potential problems resulting from having too many apartments and not enough people may be about to ensue.

City officials have been trying to address this issue and find a balance that works.

Historically, Ames was a community of single-family homes, said Chuck Jons, member of the Ames planning and zoning commission. Jons said although he is not a fan of apartments, they are obviously necessary to the community.

“People can rent them and it’s easy access for people who need a place to stay, but if you have a family, they are not the kind of place to live in permanently,” Jons said. “They are primarily first-time residences and a great place for students.”

Although there is no set percent of apartments the city should have, there needs to be a balance created within the community, Jons said.

In his view, one of the disadvantages of having an excess number of apartments is that students move into the newer apartment buildings, leaving older buildings unoccupied.

“Many of the newer buildings are cheaper and offer a lot of amenities, so as a student, why not take advantage of that?” Jons said.

Steve Schainker, Ames city manager, said renters of the older facilities are finding it difficult to compete.

“The downside [to having too many apartments] is that the majority gravitate to the newer apartments, leaving vacancies in the older apartments, rental housing and those neighborhoods,” Schainker said.

It is very expensive for the renters to upgrade their facilities to compete and the older buildings are left to deteriorate, depreciating the value of surrounding housing because they make the surrounding area look bad, Schainker said.

“As a citizen, apartments that are built – but not filled – utilize space well, but they create neighborhoods that are not characteristic of this community,” Jons said.

Jons said this sends a message that there is a possibility the city has overbuilt for the wrong reasons, possibly the tax incentive, which offers builders tax breaks for building with certain materials, such as brick, and for adding additional landscape that make the area look “aesthetically pleasing.”

He said the tax incentive may be partially responsible for the boom in the construction of rental housing in the southwest corner of the city.

The council is in the process of eliminating parts of this tax incentive to help discourage further building because it isn’t needed at this time.

The council wants to get public input before it makes the motion to eliminate or alter the program, said Jami Larson, 2nd Ward City Council member.

However, having an excess of apartments is not without its benefits.

Students and Ames residents are benefiting because renters have been offering lower rates and more amenities as a result of the competition.

“This is creating higher expectations [from tenants], so not everyone suffers,” Schainker said.

Larson said the city is looking at turning the vacant buildings into affordable housing, and working with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity to find a solution.

Although there isn’t one particular thing that can be changed that will entirely eliminate this growing problem, small things such as eliminating the tax incentive are a start, Larson said.

He predicted that the problem would eventually fix itself.

“I think probably the biggest fix will be the market forces. If they can’t rent them out, they won’t build anymore,” Larson said.