The apartment and townhome neighborhood on the east side of Fort Dodge called District 29 is poised to grow.

Talon Development, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which owns the site, is preparing to build a total of 18 more townhome structures south of the current buildings.

The first phase of construction will include nine buildings, each housing six townhouses.

The second phase would include nine more buildings, each containing five townhouses.

Each individual townhouse would have three bedrooms and a two-car garage. They will be market rate rental units.

These new buildings will be on about nine acres of land south of the current buildings at Dodger Drive and North 29th Street.

Construction on the first phase is expected to start this fall.

On Monday, the City Council advanced the project by approving the first reading of a zoning change that would switch those nine acres from an agricultural designation to a residential multi-family designation. Councilman Cameron Nelson, citing a conflict of interest, abstained from the otherwise unanimous vote.

The rezoning must be approved two more times to become effective.

The initial construction of District 29 began in 2020. In September 2021, the first phase, featuring a four-story, 93-unit apartment building and five townhouse buildings, debuted.

Construction of a second phase, which added 118 housing units, began in the fall of 2022.

The expansion of District 29 is the second new multifamily residential housing project to emerge in Fort Dodge recently. The other project will create 65 new apartments along Third Avenue Northwest. Construction of those apartments is expected to begin in June 2026.