On Wednesday, the city and project partners held a press conference at Phenix School to deliver updates about the effort, which is also providing free internet service to residents living in our apartments.

The main transmitters to supply the internet service are installed atop Phenix School’s chimney, determined by project engineers to be the best available location to reach the widest area.

Public wireless signals are now available both at Railroad Park and along historic 5th Street in Historic Valley Junction, allowing the public to connect to the internet while visiting the popular shopping and entertainment district.

Through a partnership with the West Des Moines Community Schools, low and moderate income students at nearby Hillside Elementary (WDMCS) can sign up to receive an internet signal in their home.

Aureon and Ovation Networks, Inc are among the partner companies helping provide infrastructure and internet access to make the system work.

Over time, project partners say they’ll focus on expanding the new service to even more parts of the neighborhood.

The post Phenix School is ‘internet hub’ in Valley Junction appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

The Iowa Finance Authority on Wednesday awarded housing tax credits to Spencer Manor, a 52 apartment independent senior living community in Spencer, Iowa. Following this award, Community Housing Initiatives (CHI), a Spencer-based nonprofit that acquired the property in 2015 will complete a major renovation there.

Work at Spencer Manor will begin next year after CHI completes similar ongoing work at Sunset Apartments located a few blocks away.  Both of these properties serve seniors (Spencer Manor can also serve younger people with disabilities) and feature site-based rental assistance, meaning the rent residents pay is dependent on their income. 

"The Spencer Manor renovation is a second huge win for Spencer after we were funded in a similar way to renovate Sunset Apartments two years ago, and it's incredible to be able to refresh these properties basically back to back," said Matt Hauge, CHI's Director of Marketing and Communications.

"What this means is more of our neighbors have a safe, secure place to live in their later years.  Everyone can take pride in that," he said

Rental assistance makes living at Spencer Manor and Sunset Apartments affordable to extremely low income households, which is very important because Iowa has a severe shortage of housing affordable to people in this group whose household income is at or below $24,600 year. 

Among extremely low income households in Iowa, housing frequently eats up more than half the family budget, leaving few resources to cover medical expenses or other emergencies. In Iowa, about 22,600 senior households and 18,100 households with a person with a disability are extremely low income according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

"We need more apartments that are affordable for our seniors, but we also have to keep what we've got.  Spencer Manor was built in 1977 and the first part of Sunset Apartments was built in 1966, so both have built up needs we want to address," Hauge said.

For Spencer Manor, the Iowa Finance Authority awarded $507,104 in tax credits to the property each year for ten years. Community Housing Initiatives will work with investors to sell those tax credits, raising money to complete the renovation. Work at the property is expected to begin early in 2020.

"What you'll see us do at Spencer Manor is similar to what we have done at Sunset Apartments, which is improve accessibility at the property, address some health and safety needs, and add some new features to make seniors' lives easier like laundry in the apartment," Hauge said.

At Sunset Apartments, Hauge added, newly renovated apartments are already for lease with information available at www.sunsetspencer.com or by calling Community Housing Initiatives' Spencer office at 712-262-5965.  Community Housing Initiatives is an equal housing opportunity provider and its communities are accessible to people with disabilities.

The post Spencer Manor funding announcement is a second huge win for Spencer seniors appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

Community Housing Initiatives is pleased to be accepting applications for Van Fossen Square, a new independent living community serving seniors age 55+ in Adel.  This fall, we have remodeled to serve residents better. We have kept one of our best features – the affordable rents and the fact that water, sewer, trash, gas and electric bills are all included, along with free laundry.  And now our property has a fresh new look featuring great resident activity spaces like a great room, media room, and community room as well as an outdoor terrace with scenic country views.

The Great Room at Van Fossen Square.

The media room at Van Fossen Square.

The one-bedroom apartments in Van Fossen Square offer spacious living areas, a walk-in closet, a step-in shower with seat, and include major appliances.  We are a pet friendly community (weight limit and fees apply) with on-site laundry facilities and a beauty salon for residents' convenience.  Our resident services program offers regular activities a Van Fossen Square that help our residents get to know one another and become friends.

An apartment kitchen  in Van Fossen Square.

We are located at the site of the former Adel Assisted Living, and our new name and new look reflects our role as an independent living community rather than a health care facility.  Income restrictions apply at Van Fossen Square, and we gladly accept most forms of rental assistance.  A percentage of our apartment homes are available to people under age 55 who have a disability.  We invite you to schedule a visit and consider making Van Fossen Square your new home in Dallas County.

The post CHI launches new community, Van Fossen Square, to better serve Adel seniors appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

The Iowa Finance Authority on March 14 announced it has allocated $266,087 in annual Housing Tax Credits to Community Housing Initiatives, Inc. (CHI) to acquire and renovate North Bay Apartments in Fairfield. Construction will take place in 2019. When renovations are complete, the property will offer 24 rent-assisted two and three bedroom apartments and townhomes.

All of the apartments at North Bay are eligible for HUD rental assistance making housing available to North Bay Residents at 30% of their income.  Renovations to the property will focus on energy efficiency, improving accessibility, and other improvements needed to keep this housing resource in service to the community.

Founded in 1994, Community Housing Initiatives is a nonprofit provider of affordable housing based in Spencer, Iowa.  North Bay Apartments is CHI’s first residential property in Fairfield and Jefferson County, but the organization owns or manages affordable rental properties in nearby communities including Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Washington, and Columbus Junction.

The post Iowa Finance Authority awards housing tax credits to renovate North Bay Apartments in Fairfield appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

The Iowa Finance Authority on March 14 announced it has allocated $453,446 in annual Housing Tax Credits to Community Housing Initiatives, Inc. (CHI) to acquire and renovate Penn Oaks Apartments in North Liberty.

The project also received a loan from the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County. Tracey Achenbach, the trust fund’s executive director, said her organization is pleased to support affordable housing in North Liberty, a growing community with strong housing demand.

“It can be very difficult for low and moderate income people to find a place in our local rental housing market.  It’s important for us to invest in preserving quality affordable housing so that everyone here has access to safe, well-maintained housing,” she said.

To that end, work at Penn Oaks will include a range of updates to apartments focused on energy efficiency and adding resident-focused features like in-unit laundry. Construction will take place in 2019. When renovations are complete, the property will offer 38 three bedroom apartments.

Founded in 1994, Community Housing Initiatives is a nonprofit provider of affordable housing based in Spencer, Iowa.  Penn Oaks is CHI’s first residential property in North Liberty and Johnson County, but the organization owns or manages affordable rental properties in nearby communities including Cedar Rapids, Mount Vernon, Washington, and Columbus Junction.

The post Iowa Finance Authority awards housing tax credits to renovate Penn Oaks Apartments in North Liberty appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

Spieker currently serves as Northwest Iowa Regional Manager and will begin her new role when her current role is filled.  As a regional manager, Spieker oversaw CHI’s growing operations in Northwest Iowa with responsibility for the performance of 365 apartments at 18 properties across Northwest Iowa from Sioux Center to Mason City.  In her career she has been the first point of contact for hundreds of people and families who are seeking a good place to live at a price they can afford.

“Brittany embodies our spirit of service to our residents and communities statewide,” said Sam Erickson, CHI’s chief operating officer.  “She is a tireless ambassador for our mission and her creativity and passion for serving residents will serve her well in this new role.”

Resident Services (RS) is a team of CHI staff who help connect CHI’s residents with one another and with services in the community to help them reach goals from accessing medical care to achieving financial self-sufficiency.  CHI’s RS team is comprised of three dedicated staff who work closely with others across the organization.

This year, CHI’s Resident Services team also led a major initiative called Strategic Investment, which was an opportunity to make targeted investments at select properties, helping to improve resident satisfaction and boost the overall performance of the properties.  A key feature of the program is allowing residents to direct how investment in their community is made for improvements they value most.  After a successful year with this initiative, CHI will seek to extend this approach to new properties over time.

“Our goal is to provide apartment communities where people are proud to live that can continue in quality service for many years, and the Resident Services team is an absolutely essential component of that.  We value this team and its role helping us lift up and support people and families who choose to live with us,” Erickson said.

The post CHI Announces Brittany Spieker as new Director of Resident Services appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

Court View Apartments, located at 2200 Court Street in Sioux City, will receive major updates under the terms of a new agreement reached with the Iowa Finance Authority.  Apartments will receive new windows, flooring, paint, and energy efficient appliances as well as in-unit laundry, a resident favorite.

The decision is a change in fortune for the 24 apartment property in Sioux City.  Previously, Community Housing Initiatives (CHI), the nonprofit organization which operates Court View, applied for Housing Tax Credits to finance renovations at Court View in the 2017 funding round, but the project was not funded.

The situation changed when it was decided a housing development the Iowa Finance Authority funded in 2016 is not moving forward, allowing the agency to offer that funding to Court View Apartments, which is a similarly-sized project.  The tax credit award made to Court View is $320,151 annually.

“The apartments in Court View have held up well and remain a great resource for low and moderate income people in the community, but just like your home needs upgrades after 20 years, this building is no different.  This work needs to be done and we are grateful for the opportunity to make upgrades to the building that will keep it available for the next twenty years,” said Sam Erickson, CHI’s chief operating officer.

Court View opened in 1998 and offers two and three bedroom apartments for people with low and moderate incomes.  It is also where CHI’s Sioux City Regional Office is located serving Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Hawarden and Moville.

Work on updates to Court View Apartments will begin in January, 2018.  The building will remain open throughout the renovations.

In addition to the Iowa Finance Authority, the Midwest Housing Equity Group is a key financing partner.  ASK Studio in Des Moines will serve as architect, and North Sioux City-based Brown Wegher Construction is the general contractor.

Community Housing Initiatives is a nonprofit organization based in Spencer, Iowa, that offers 227 apartments in Sioux City in 8 apartment communities.  In 1996, CHI’s first building to open in Sioux City was the Lessenich Place Apartments in a former postal annex with a great location in the up-and-coming Pearl Street district.

CHI’s most recent construction project in town involved adding additional apartments to the Call Terminal Apartments on historic 4th Street on floors previously occupied by commercial space.  All apartments in that building–there are now 70–received updates during that effort, and work was completed late in 2015.

The post Court View Apartments in Sioux City will recieve significant updates in renovation appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

After her daughter Isadora was born last November, Andrea Parker says she felt like her family was on a roll.  She and her husband decided it was time to take action on their goal of purchasing a home of their own.  They reached their goal and moved in last month.

As residents of Sugar Creek Bend, a property Community Housing Initiatives manages in Cedar Rapids, Parker and her family successfully met the requirements of a unique “homeownership incubator” program for residents in that community.  As a result, Parker earned substantial down payment assistance toward her new home.

“We loved living at Sugar Creek but there’s a different feeling when it comes to owning your own home.  It’s just a pride that you have,” Parker said.

Helping more families feel that pride in homeownership is the main point of Sugar Creek Bend, a  group of 20 three bedroom homes that opened in 2011 in a neighborhood intermixed with owner-occupied homes.

Residents at Sugar Creek Bend get a taste of homeownership by taking on basic home maintenance, like lawn care, snow removal, and common repairs.

“The maintenance part didn’t really bother me because it’s such a new home,” Parker said.  “[Sugar Creek] is probably the nicest place I’ve ever lived outside of my parents’ house – it was easy, it was clean it was nice; I had everything I needed.”

Another element of the homeownership incubator program is participating in financial advising provided by a HUD-certified training provider.  Most Sugar Creek residents seek that training from Horizons, a local Cedar Rapids nonprofit that has been providing financial wellness trainingto the community since 1983.

Adriane Moline, financial health and wellness manager at Horizons, said, “We work with people who feel stuck, anxious and overwhelmed and show them that they’re not alone. Our goal is to increase the financial capability of these individuals and families through financial education, coaching and access to services.  It’s inspiring to help clients meet their goals; over 90% of people we work with tell us they feel more confident about reaching their housing and financial goals after working with us.”

As a benefit of participating in the program and meeting its requirements, residents receive assistance toward a down payment on a house when they move out of Sugar Creek Bend that is equal to $100 for each month of residency.

Parker (photo left) said the financial preparedness advising in the program helped her look at her family’s budget to find new ways to save for the down payment and other moving expenses.

“We figured it out somehow and were able to start saving money and just kept putting more and more money in our savings,” she said.

With a little planning and careful budgeting Parker said she was pleased to find homeownership really was something her family could achieve, even on a budget.

“Go with your gut and know it’s going to work out, you’re going to find something nice,” she said.  “I think it’s more attainable than people realize.”

Community Housing Initiatives manages Sugar Creek Bend in partnership with Affordable Housing Network, Inc. , a local affordable housing nonprofit, as well as support from the Midwest Housing Equity Group and the Iowa Finance Authority.

The post Sugar Creek Bend helps renters reach goal of homeownership appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

It’s back to school season with families around Iowa checking school supply lists by day and kids playing outside at night on their last free evenings before they go back to their academic routines.

At Community Housing Initiatives, we think everything about being a kid is easier when you have a quality place to live.  Succeeding in school is no different.  In fact, the apartments we rent around Iowa are related to educational success for kids in many ways, according to a recent report by the Center for Housing Policy.

Some of the connections are easier to see.  When families have access to quality places to live they can afford, more of the family budget can be spent on school supplies, books, and other family necessities.  Families that don’t have to struggle as hard to make ends meet have more time and energy to focus on learning at home.

We work hard to keep our apartments well maintained because we know that quality homes and apartments people can afford are cleaner and safer, with fewer health hazards and less crowding.  Those things help kids too.

Researchers studying education among young people also look at more complicated issues like how often families have to move and the role moving plays in how kids do in school. Why families move is critically important.  When families lose their home because of financial or other problems, kids go through a lot of upheaval and can be set back in school.  An affordable apartment or house can be an important stabilizing force for a whole family.

One recent Urban Institute report sheds more light on the complicated relationship between where kids live and how they do in school.  More than just housing is part of this picture–crime rates, the job market, access to parks, transportation quality and more are influential on how our community’s kids do in school.

There is evidence to suggest programs like Housing Choice Vouchers and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit can help families access better schools, and ultimately do better in school.  Still, the best way to give more families access to good education opportunities through housing is still hotly debated by policy experts. While we continue to learn about how kids’ living situation affects how they do in school, we know that planning and building our apartment communities with care — and maintaining them well — are critically important for the kids we serve.  And in that way, we are happy to help send our youngest residents back to school with the best start we can.

School bus photograph by H. Michael Miley via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons BY-SA license.

The post Success in school is easier with a decent place to live appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

But more than that, Phillips has been getting a 955 square foot 1916 home ready for its next owners, one of three where she is now completing renovations on the same block. People are noticing – a sale is already pending on this latest house after only days on the market.

“These three in a row have such an impact because they’re so visible driving by on University or walking down to East High School.  It helps people get thinking and talking about what their neighborhood could look like,” Phillips said.

And looking out from the house, it’s hard not to see the potential.  Many homes in Capitol Park were constructed between 1900 and 1920.  Homes in the area are among the city’s oldest, but fortunately their basic design and construction makes them able to be renovated and kept up for today’s homeowners.

That’s where Phillips is engaged, selecting and renovating some of the area’s most troubled properties then remodeling them for sale on behalf of Community Housing Initiatives, a nonprofit working in the area as part of the Viva East Bank! Initiative.

She purchased this home through a tax sale, and it looked like the previous owners left quickly.  Trash was strewn about and an abandoned car sat out back.  It’s exactly the kind of situation Phillips is looking for when she gets to work.

As a whole, Capitol Park is a neighborhood that’s learned to bounce back more than once.  Many parts of the neighborhood have views of the State Capitol Building, right to the south, but the construction of Interstate 235 made that building—and downtown—feel much farther away.  Investment and growth in the city started flowing west down the freeway.

Today, elevated contract sales of homes and higher vacancy rates than other neighborhoods are some of the signs of stress in Capitol Park’s housing market.  Yet at the same time, downtown Des Moines and the nearby East Village are experiencing a dramatic resurgence, prompting hopes for an economic revival in neighborhoods like Capitol Park.

Working on the houses, Phillips is literally touching the history around her.  Several people, including past owners of her properties, have stopped by to check on her progress on East 13th.  That visible location is helping people see the progress.

“I think they’ve been waiting for it, and maybe they haven’t been sure it was going to happen.  I think there’s a surprise element to it,” Stacie said.

Capitol Park is one of the city’s youngest and most diverse neighborhoods.  It’s full of families. It’s a relatively affordable place to live. The restaurants are great. Scarlet pride at East High School burns as bright as ever.

Listed at $115k, Phillips latest house is perched on the market as a great starter home.  It won’t be there long, with its hardwood floors all new kitchen, and two car garage.

Phillips feels the same excitement about the neighborhood.  People are looking at Capitol Park with a fresh set of eyes.

“It’s going to be a process and certainly we want to see people who already live here, who are already invested, being included in the neighborhood’s progress, not left out.  With our partners, we are working on that part too.  But as this happens, there’s opportunity here, and that’s exciting.”

The post Our second rehabilitated home is finished in Capitol Park appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.