“Where is the fair and equal opportunity for other investors like myself to make a proposal?” Paul Butterfield, of Badger, asked the council.

He did not get an answer.

Hoppe Development, of Lincoln, Nebraska, proposed the apartment complex. It would be located on the south side of Third Avenue Northwest between Fifth and 10th streets northwest on what is now vacant city-owned land.

On Monday, the City Council approved the second of three required readings needed to change the zoning designation of the land from office commercial and single-family residential to multi-family residential.

It also approved a procedural measure which sets up a Feb. 5 vote on transferring the land to Hoppe Development.

Butterfield, who is a builder and pastor of the Winds of Fire Church located not far from where the apartments are planned, said he has wanted to buy that property for three years.

“I wanted to be involved in rebuilding my city,” he said.

He said that in November he asked city staffers when that land would be made available for development proposals and was told it would be awhile yet. Two months later the Hoppe Development proposal became public.

“I just feel like the process is lacking here,” he said. “I want the best for Fort Dodge. I feel shorted in some respects.”

The proposed complex would consist of a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom units with rents ranging from $750 a month to $1,750 a month.

If all necessary approvals are received, construction of the complex would begin in June 2026.