TR PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY – The Creekside Townhomes project just off South 6th Street in Marshalltown will benefit from nearly $798,000 in tax breaks after the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) announced incentives for 25 communities across the state earlier this week.

AREA – As part of its efforts to encourage more young people to settle here, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) recently awarded Workforce Housing Tax Credits (WHTCs) to projects in a total of 25 communities across the state, including Marshalltown and Conrad in TR’s service area.

The Creekside Townhomes project in Marshalltown, located north of Wayward Social on South 6th Street, will receive nearly $798,000 in incentives – $720,000 in WHTCs and a sales tax rebate of $77,784. Developer Brian Ridge has already purchased several lots in the new housing development to build duplexes, three-family homes and a four-family home at market-rate rents.

City Consultant Cindy Kendall was excited to hear the news and hoped it would allow more people who work in Marshalltown to find housing within the community rather than having to commute.

“They’re going to be more modern complexes than you can imagine, especially for young professionals,” Kendall said. “But they’re also going to be rentals, so young professionals have the opportunity to live in the community and invest in the community and all of our amenities. I think the bike path is really another shining star for Marshalltown right now. (The project) will also give them the opportunity to (at a later date) move into single-family housing developments that are currently under construction.”

If construction goes as planned this fall, interior work will likely begin in the winter and the apartments could be ready for occupancy as early as next spring. Mayor Joel Greer is excited about the opportunity to attract more young professionals to Marshalltown.

“I just read an article about the housing problems that have affected most cities in the country since World War II. I’m glad that Marshalltown has developers like that who are willing to build at market rate and, frankly, any home they want,” Greer said. “It’s rare in cities our size in this state that developers invest without getting help in the form of tax abatements, tax increment financing or other incentives. We’re lucky to have those resources available to them.”

John Hall, president and CEO of the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce, expressed a similar sentiment, noting that the lack of housing could make it significantly more difficult for the city’s employers to hire new employees.

“We were very pleased to receive Workforce Housing Tax Credits for the Creekside Estate project. We know that housing continues to be one of the biggest barriers to community growth, employee recruitment and retention of qualified employees,” he said. “This housing project continues to help us address these challenges locally.”

TR PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY – West Des Moines-based Origin Homes will receive tax credits totaling $198,336 to build five single-family homes in the Catherine Farmer Addition in Conrad.

In Conrad, Origin Homes will receive a $150,000 tax credit and a $48,336 sales tax refund — for a total of $198,336 in incentives — to build five new single-family homes in the Catherine Farmer Addition on the north side of town, near BCLUW Elementary School. Mayor Jeff Martin recalled that City Clerk Lori Stansberry met with a representative of Origin, a division of Hubbell Realty, at a countywide meeting and pitched the idea of ​​building in Conrad.

This conversation evolved into a personal tour of the community by Martin, Stansberry and city engineer Luke Wilson.

“We had a feeling they liked what they saw, but we weren’t sure. And then a few months later we heard that they had narrowed it down to three cities, and we knew we were one of the three,” Martin said. “We ended up being one of them because we received this grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority… There were several small cities that were chosen, so we were happy we were one of them.”

Origin also received incentives for projects in Jefferson and Knoxville. The company is buying five properties in Conrad and plans to build single-family homes there and then sell them, in part because it expects them to quickly disappear from the market.

“They don’t want to build houses that they’re going to sit on for two years. They want them finished,” Martin said. “I think if someone wanted to buy one before they built it, they could work with them and make some adjustments compared to what they want.”

Of the 50 lots created when the development was parceled out—the first residents moved there in 2021—four homes are currently built and occupied by owners, with two taking up more than one lot (eight lots have been sold in total, not including Origin’s five). Adding five more will roughly double the population of the annex, which is close to the elementary school, Comet Trail and the Conrad Family Aquatic Center.

Stansberry said the new homes would be valued under $300,000, which would be a more affordable option for first-time buyers looking to live in the community. She also noted that in the future, they may partner with other developers to create more housing in the Catherine Farmer Addition, including duplexes for those looking to move from larger homes to a smaller one.

“Houses don’t stay for sale long in this town and that’s one of the reasons we wanted to hire another builder,” she said.

Young teachers who want to raise families in the communities they serve are a key target audience for the project, Stansberry added. The City of Conrad has also acquired 93 acres of farmland on the east side of town for future commercial and/or industrial development, which the City Clerk and Mayor said will be part of a larger growth strategy for the future.

Elsewhere in the area, the Woodland Park Apartments project in Eldora will receive incentives totaling $998,901 to build 32 units.