Funding announcements are occurring or expected soon for several new affordable multifamily projects planned for Des Moines.
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At its March Board meeting, the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) approved awards of $1,000,000 in low income housing tax credits (annually for 10 years) as well as a $500,000 HOME program Award for Goldfinch Lofts In Des Moines.
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Goldfinch Lofts, which is being developed by Cutler Development LLC and Arch Icon Development Corp., won the state’s second-annual Housing Innovation Pitch Competition at the HousingIowa Conference in 2025, giving the project a priority lane to receive this housing tax credit award.
Goldfinch Lofts is planned for 3404 Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines (across from Price Chopper). The property is planned to be Iowa’s first Low Income Housing Tax Credit project to use mass timber construction, a method the developers have used previously including on Star Lofts a few blocks to the east. The property will feature 28 income-restricted apartments.
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Anticipating IFA’s award of credits, the Polk County Housing Trust Fund’s board in February awarded $459,000 in new rental development funds to support Goldfinch Lofts.
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IFA is expected to announce the remaining Housing Tax Credit awards in this year’s 9% credit round in early May. PCHTF’s board also approved $250,000 awards for two projects with applications pending in this round, provided they are successful in receiving credits. Those projects include Newbury Commons and Foundry Lofts, both planned for the Market District (along Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway just east of the Des Moines River) in Des Moines.
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Both of those projects could be the beneficiary of the Thriving Communities designation awarded to Des Moines in 2024 to encourage multifamily affordable development in communities that demonstrate development readiness.
The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) has awarded of $11.2 million from the State Housing Trust Fund to local housing trust funds across Iowa, including $1,029,304 to the Polk County Housing Trust Fund (PCHTF). This is the largest amount the state fund has ever allocated to local initiatives overall and the largest allocation it has made to PCHTF specifically.
Funds from this award support "bricks and mortar" housing development, primarily new affordable rental housing development. PCHTF allocates funds locally through a competitive grant-making process, governed by our housing allocation plan and approved by our board of directors.
Remaining funds we allocate to housing development come from Polk County. For the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022, PCHTF awarded just more than $1.9 million for housing development.
This year's State Housing Trust Fund allocation is the largest ever because the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds joined to increase funding for the program in 2021.
The State Housing Trust Fund was created in 2003. According to the Iowa Finance Authority, since its inception, the State Housing Trust Fund has provided $112.2 million in affordable housing assistance to benefit more than 35,200 Iowa families, leveraging more than $175 million in other funding resources.
While PCHTF extends sincere gratitude to the Iowa Finance Authority and state leaders for this increased allocation, the need for additional housing investment remains significant. One estimate by the National Low Income Housing Coalition indicates Polk County needs an additional 11,635 units of housing that are affordable and available to extremely low income renters struggling to afford the place they live.
- 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.