Two new housing developments will soon fill up the site of the old high school on Willis Avenue.
Legally known as block eight of the Foster and Heaton addition, the area lies on the south side of Willis Avenue and north side of Otley Avenue between 10th and 12th streets. The Perry School Board acquired the property from George Heaton in April 1909 for $7,000 and erected a new high school at a cost of $32,000.
Two additions were built on to the Perry High School in 1936, and it continued to operate as the high school until 1959, when a new high school — now used as the Perry Middle School — was built on 18th Street. The old high school on 10th Street continued on as the junior high school until the current Perry High School was built in 2000.
More than a century after building the school, the Perry School Board donated the land and building to the city, which demolished the structure in 2011. The block remained vacant until the building of the Hamlin-Bell Apartments in 2016, followed by the erection of three single-family residences in 2019, 2020 and 2021, built by the Perry High School building trades program.
Now the residential housing projects will fill up the remaining vacancy, according to an announcement made Friday by the city of Perry.
The southwest side of the block will contain a $1.6 million, eight-unit rental duplex development by Urbandale-based Balmer LLC. The duplexes will offer three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage for each unit.
“We are extremely excited to break ground on the Otley Avenue townhomes,” said Bryan Balmer, owner of Balmer LLC. “Since our first meeting with Sven in June of this year, working with Sven, the city, and community of Perry has been a great experience. We believe that these townhomes will be an excellent addition to the community and our
hope is that this is the first of many projects in Perry.”
The northeast corner of the block will see a five-unit, row-style townhome development
built by Des Moines-based Capital Homes LLC. The townhomes will feature three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, attached two-car garages and front doors opening onto Willis Avenue.
“I have lived in Perry for most of my life and am very excited to work on a project that will benefit my local community,” said Will Paulsen of Capital Homes LLC. “We are proud to play a small part in growing the community by adding housing and helping to prove the economic viability of future investment in our town. We are grateful to the city staff for being instrumental in making this project happen.”
Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson said he will be pleased to see the full block occupied and on the property tax rolls after 12 years of city ownership.
“This is a great opportunity for our city to attract new residents and businesses,” Peterson said. “We are grateful to Capital Homes and Balmer LLC for their investment and commitment to Perry. By working collaboratively — these two developments, the three homes built by Perry High School and the Hamlin Bell apartments — we have created 52 living spaces for our community. We hope these projects will serve as a catalyst for future
development in our city.”
