Polk County Housing Trust Fund

The Trust Fund got to visit Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity's Carter Court blitz build site today. Eight homes are going up this week out of what will be 15 in the full development. Things were somewhat quieter as the rain was moving in, but the progress is inspirational as dozens and dozens of volunteers have been helping build these homes. Each home will appraise around $270,000, but community support (including from our development funding programs) ensures no new homeowner will pay more than 30% of their income for their home. We are told that as of now, all of these homes already have new owners lined up.

Our recent home attainability bus tour focused on the rising cost of single family homes and how communities and builders are responding. Learn more about the issues and download our free tour booklet from our workforce housing initiative with Capital Crossroads (CXR), Here We Grow: https://lnkd.in/gn8cqhd7

The Trust Fund congratulates Woda Cooper Companies, Inc. on today's groundbreaking of Alley Landing apartments in the City of Des Moines. It will bring much needed affordable housing to the north side of Des Moines as well as support for homeless veterans managed by Families Forward.

Thank you to The Commonwealth Companies for inviting us to celebrate the opening of Hawthorne Pointe apartments in City of Bondurant and Tyler Sheeran for taking the time to tell us about this new community. Hawthorne Pointe offers 1, 2, and 4 bedroom apartments and townhomes in Bondurant, Iowa, a rapidly growing community that has seen a large increase in nearby warehouse and logistics jobs offering wages that align well to support residents who will be able to live in this new apartment community. The Trust Fund awarded $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds on behalf of Polk County to support this 40-unit property which given the difficult conditions for development over the last two years, today the development team credited with saving the project. https://lnkd.in/gCtHVBNY

It's a great day to look at housing! Thanks to our Capital Crossroads (CXR) colleagues and representatives of communities across Greater Des Moines for joining us on today's housing attainability bus tour. We're particularly honored to recognize the builders and developers who participated today - they're doing the real work of building our neighbors homes they love. Thank you to: Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity, Jenna Ekstrom Kimberley Development Corporation, Jenna Kimberley Diligent Development, Tim Portzen, Kalen Ludwig Greenland Homes, Corey Kautz Tanzanite Homes, Kirk Mickelsen Hubbell Homes - Iowa, Hubbell Realty Company, Rachel Flint, CSP, CMP (and there are many other individuals within these organizations who helped as well) Thank you to our co-organizers and truly valued colleagues Kaity Patchett and Adriana Slaughter as well as friend of housing Dan Knoup for key additional support. We'll share more from today's tour very soon.

Today we were quite pleased to join The Commonwealth Companies to celebrate the opening of Hawthorne Pointe Apartments in City of Bondurant. The Trust Fund awarded $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds on behalf of Polk County to support this 40-unit property which given the difficult conditions for development over the last two years, today the development team credited with saving the project. Hawthorne Pointe offers 1, 2, and 4 bedroom apartments and townhomes in Bondurant, Iowa, a rapidly growing community that has seen a large increase in nearby warehouse and logistics jobs offering wages that align well to support residents who will be able to live in this new apartment community. The property offers in-demand features like in-unit laundry and ample storage space as well as an on-site community room and playground. Apartments will be available primarily at 40% and 60% of the area median income with a few available at market rate. As of today's opening celebration, the property is almost fully occupied.

Every 5 years, governments in our region prepare a regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice that sets community goals for improving housing opportunity in Greater Des Moines. The plan sets local goals to improve housing opportunity and access for all people. We previously shared information about Des Moines' approval of the plan and now have information about West Des Moines: ✅ The region's new draft plan is available to read and comment on in West Des Moines until October 27. You can send a comment to [email protected]. ✅ West Des Moines City Council will hold a public hearing on the plan at the November 18 City Council meeting. ✅ Des Moines, West Des Moines, and Polk County are the governments who create this plan. ✅ It's informed by dozens of stakeholder meetings and almost 2000 community survey responses earlier this year. https://lnkd.in/gNpAntmt

We have a new report out with Capital Crossroads (CXR) highlighting builder and developer perspectives on meeting the region's workforce housing needs. As the region strives to meet the housing needs of every person and family, these insights are part of the feedback we've gathered to understand how local policies on zoning and land use, among other topics, shape what housing will be available in the future. Check out our new blog post with more information: https://lnkd.in/g_-Ff8nq

Every 5 years, governments in our region prepare a regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice that sets community goals for improving housing opportunity in Greater Des Moines. The plan sets local goals to improve housing opportunity and access for all people. 📑 The region's new draft plan is available to read and comment on in Des Moines until October 27. You can send a comment to [email protected]. 🎙 Des Moines City Council will hold a public hearing on the plan at the November 4 City Council meeting. 🏘 Des Moines, West Des Moines, and Polk County are the governments who create this plan. 👂 It's informed by dozens of stakeholder meetings and almost 2000 community survey responses earlier this year. Read the plan and learn more at https://lnkd.in/gZyii7iF We'll share more information about this plan as it moves forward.

The Polk County Housing Trust Fund is now accepting applications for our FY2025 owner occupied repair program funding round as set forth in our FY2025 Housing Allocation Plan. ✅ Funds support programs o sustain housing affordability and viability while maintaining safe and environmentally friendly housing stock. ✅ Funds available in this round are $590,000 ✅ The deadline to apply is October 25, 2024 at 3pm central time. ✅ Additional details can be found in the funding announcement below or at pchtf.org/apply. ⚠️ Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations and local governments. Individuals are not eligible to receive this funding directly. If you are a homeowner who needs financial help with home repair, learn about available programs at PCHTF.org/oor If you'd like to receive email notifications when we open funding applications, remember to sign up at PCHTF.org/sign-up and choose Funding Notice List. Read today's funding announcement at: https://conta.cc/3Beqzgn