DES MOINES, Iowa — Right now, the land where the Knoxville Veterans Administration Hospital once stood is a pile of debris and trees, but according to the city's mayor, a much-needed development is on its way in.
"Our main focus will be around housing, the need for housing, we need every type of housing, single family, multifamily rental, senior, whatever it is, we could use more housing in that area," Mayor Brian Hatch said.
Candi Stevens owns Candi's Flowers, which has been in Knoxville for 40 years.
"I've seen a lot of things in Knoxville come and go," Stevens said. "I'm a business here, and I can't stay in business if there's nobody around to buy anything. So, the future of all of our businesses are going to depend on new housing and new people moving to our community."
After the VA Hospital relocated, the City of Knoxville teamed up with Marion County to develop the land for housing, hoping to encourage people to stick around.
"We've been landlocked, so to speak for several years," Hatch said. "This will create again, 152 acres of land for us to grow for many, many years to come."
The city's economic development director Glenn Lyon said a project of this size in a small town takes time.
"We've not worked on the scale before. This is not a large project in a big city, but in a small city, this is very large," Lyon, said. "The key is building in phases. Building enough that people can see that this will be a good community to live in, but not putting too much in the ground too fast."
Knoxville is home to the Knoxville Raceway which brings in thousands each summer. The mayor hopes this housing project sets the stage for more accessible housing down the line.
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