Back on track: Housing
Nan Dickson/Telegram file
Construction workers use hammers and nail guns in March to install rafters in a house on a construction site at Drexel Loop and Lakeview Lane in South Temple.
Area housing projects on a roll 2020 was another record-breaking year for new Temple homes BY SHANE MONACO TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
While the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down many things, Temple and its surrounding areas have been on a roll toward growth. Over the past year Temple annexed many new tracts for proposed housing projects in the western and southern sections of the city, while construction has started on hundreds of new homes. The growth has affected many of the cities along Interstate 35, including Temple, Bel-
ton and Salado. In 2020 Temple saw another record-breaking year for the number of new single-family homes permitted at 1,265. The permitting of new homes was about 20% more than what was seen in 2019, when 1,016 singlefamily homes were permitted. So far in 2021 Temple is on its way to beat its previous number of homes permitted, with the first four months already reaching 402, compared to 372 during the same time in 2020. City Councilman Wendell Williams, who represents West
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Temple, said the city has seen a lot of growth in recent years and has done a good job keeping up with it. “Temple has been discovered and we are seeing unprecedented growth, and, fortunately, the city is doing a good job of keeping up with that growth as best they can,” Williams said. “There is a lot of stress on the budget to build all those roads, but you have to do it to have that quality of life that everybody wants in our community.” Belton also has seen many new homes being built, including
hundreds currently under development to its south near Loop 121. City Manager Sam Listi said in January that it made sense the area has seen a lot of home construction, with previous investment for the growth already in place. “Development cannot occur without appropriate infrastructure to support it,” Listi said. “Water and sewer lines are in place within the Loop 121 corridor. Add to that the proposed widening of the loop and the 109-acre Belton ISD tract at June 27, 2021
