City of Urbandale seeks developer for affordable housing project on Douglas Avenue

A City of Urbandale drawing shows site easements at the 10841 Douglas Avenue site. The hotel shown in the image has since been demolished.

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/RFP and closes on October 7 at 5 pm local time.