The City of Urbandale has issued a request for proposals seeking a developer to purchase and develop housing on a 2-acre city-owned site on Douglas Avenue with an affordability term of 20+ years.
Urbandale "is prepared to work with a housing development team to maximize success for the community and developer. Located along Douglas Avenue, the site is one of Urbandale’s primary east–west corridors, carrying more than 25,000 vehicles per day," according to the City's website.
Urbandale's actions represent a major next step in the community's efforts to respond to rising housing costs. In May, a renovated former hotel opened as The View on Hickman apartments where developers entered an agreement with the City to secure income restrictions on approximately one third of units, among other features.
In July, the Iowa Finance Authority awarded Urbandale the competitive Thriving Communities designation for the Douglas Avenue site, which gives the location an advantage in the upcoming Low Income Housing Tax Credit application round.
While the Thriving Communities designation does not guarantee a housing project will win federal tax credits, the points advantage it provides is a strong advantage in highly competitive tax credit scoring. A housing tax credit project in Urbandale would be the city's second active project after Lillis Lofts opened near Merle Hay Mall in 2021.
Urbandale first acquired the property at 10841 Douglas Avenue in September 2024. A hotel previously located on the property has been demolished.
The request for proposals is available at urbandale.org/RFPÂ and closes on October 7 at 5 pm local time.
- PCHTF
- Apr 4, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 6, 2023
Neighborhood Finance Corporation has been lending in Des Moines since 1991. NFC provides unique lending programs and related services to help revitalize designated neighborhoods in Polk County and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. NFC has served 8,000 households in Des Moines making over $400 million in investments.
NFC’s lending helps people purchase homes, refinance existing mortgages, and secure home improvement renovation loans. They do this in partnership with Polk County and the cities of Des Moines, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights and Urbandale along with capital for lending raised from local financial institutions.
The lending areas where NFC operates were created in response to the impact of redlining and historic and discriminatory restrictions on access to capital. Those disparities are still quite apparent today as large racial and ethnic homeownership gaps exist in our community. While still providing lending to the community at large, NFC has been developing specific strategies to close these longstanding gaps.
In 2017, NFC was awarded funds that allowed the organization to offer down payment assistance and found that offering this benefit increased its lending to communities of color by 35%.
NFC has built on that progress by offering its Journey to Homeownership program which in its first year has nearly doubled the percentage of its loans to Black and African American homebuyers.
This year, NFC has just announced a new down payment assistance program that can provide up to a $30,000 deferred loan to eligible homebuyers purchasing in Polk County with an approved lender. This program will further expand the organization’s ability to help more people and families realize their dream of owning a home. Learn more about Neighborhood Finance Corporation at www.neighborhoodfinance.org.
This week, the Polk County Housing Trust Fund is sharing stories about some of our provider partners working to ensure housing opportunity for all. Make sure you sign up for e-mail updates to stay in touch when we share more stories like these.
- Dec 17, 2021
- 1 min read
On December 14, Urbandale celebrated the opening of Lillis Lofts, a new mixed income property located immediately southwest of Merle Hay Mall. Now, you can get a look inside the property with a video tour from the Polk County Housing Trust Fund.
Lillis Lofts is a mixed income property, meaning some apartments have income restrictions but others do not. The property offers a mix of two- and three-bedroom floor plans with in-unit laundry, free wifi, a fitness center, playground and community room on site.
During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Urbandale Mayor Bob Andeweg celebrated a "wonderful day for the City of Urbandale," calling quality housing a "key priority" for the city.
Joe O'Hern, president of Dream Catcher, the non-profit organization involved in Lillis Lofts, hailed the benefits the property will provide for Urbandale's local workforce.
"There's a bus route close. There are employment opportunities close, and we have a range of income levels that will qualify to live here," O'Hern said. "And I fully expect that virtually all of those different income levels will be working people that can take advantage o the employment opportunities very close by."
Indianapolis-based TWG Development led the project with local nonprofit organization Dream Catcher assuming ownership after construction.
Detailed property information can be found at www.lillislofts.com.