A stretch of city-owned land along Third Avenue Northwest in Fort Dodge was sold Monday to a Nebraska firm that plans to build apartments there.

The property on the north side of that road between Fifth and 10th streets northwest was sold to Hoppe Development, of Lincoln, Nebraska, for $369,000.

The company plans to create 65 apartments in a series of eight two- and three-story buildings on that property.

Also on Monday, the council gave final approval to a zoning change needed to allow the construction of the apartments. The council switched the land from office commercial and single family residential zones to a multi-family residential zone.

Construction of the apartment complex could begin in June 2026.

Paul Butterfield, of Badger, is a builder and pastor of the nearby Winds of Fire Church who has criticized the proposal in previous remarks to the council.

“I know there’s a lot of people in the neighborhood that are disgruntled,” he told the council Monday.

He said a representative of Hoppe Development pledged to create a greenspace between the apartments and the Winds of Fire Church.

“If he goes forward with it, I’m going to hold him to it,” Butterfield said.