About Us

Community Housing Initiatives, Inc. (CHI) was created in 1993 by a Northwest Iowa Community Action Agency, Upper Des Moines Opportunity. The concept for a non-profit affordable housing organization was the result of a strategic planning session that revealed many Iowa families are caught in a cycle of poverty in part because of a lack of decent, safe and energy efficient affordable housing.

CHI was formed to address the lack of new and affordable housing options for families seeking to transition from dependency on public assistance programs. CHI is 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and has been designated a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) for the entire state of Iowa.

Until CHI's formation, no single non-profit organization had been designed to focus specifically on increasing affordable housing across the state of Iowa. Over the past decade, CHI has established itself as one of the most successful developers and managers of affordable rental housing in Iowa. CHI Inc., has constructed or rehabilitated more than 1,200 affordable housing units and has 70 additional units under construction.

As the result of a strong commitment to creating partnerships with communities and supportive service providers, CHI development teams have created a wide array of housing solutions, each uniquely tailored to the needs of individual communities.