CHI will invest more than $6.5 million to update the 52-unit property. The property includes 14 buildings that will receive a full upgrade to include:

• Enhanced handicapped accessibility including walk in showers
• Upgraded kitchens and baths
• New windows
• New appliances
• New energy efficient HVAC and water heating
• Flooring, paint and light fixtures
• In-unit washer and dryer
• Renovated community building

The project is set to begin this month and will take roughly one year to complete. Residents will be temporarily displaced into vacant units on the property during renovations.

“CHI is committed to the preservation of affordable housing in Iowa. The Spencer Manor renovation project is an important step in assuring that these apartments remain available to the citizens of Clay County well into the future,” said Sam Erickson, Vice President, Community Housing Initiatives. “We are extremely proud to work alongside our funding partners with the City of Spencer, Iowa Finance Authority, and Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.”

In May 2015, CHI acquired Spencer Manor. Located only blocks from our corporate office in Spencer, the property fits well into CHI’s Northwest Region. In addition to the apartments, the property features a community building with kitchen and activity space.

“We are grateful to be able to provide these much needed upgrades for the community, and especially our residents!” Kris Illg, Construction and Rehabilitation Director, Community Housing Initiatives. Illg has a special connection to this project as her father is the original builder.
 
Founded in 1994 in nearby Graettinger, Community Housing Initiatives now serves more than 30 communities statewide.  When Spencer Manor renovations are complete, CHI will offer 231 apartments in Spencer including 143 exclusively for seniors.

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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.

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SPENCER, IA — U.S. Congressman Steve King, local officials, supporters and residents of Sunset Apartments gathered Wednesday to mark the start of renovations to the affordable senior living property that Community Housing Initiatives, a Spencer-based nonprofit, acquired last month.

Currently known as Sunset Retirement Home, this property has been a critical housing resource for Clay County seniors since it was constructed in 1965. Major additions to the property expanded it to the 100 apartment community it is today in the early 1980s and mid-1990s.

“In the first place, the options available to finance projects like this are competitive and require a quality application to be submitted,” said Kris Illg, CHI’s Director of Construction and Rehabilitation. “Ordinarily that is a significant challenge in and of itself. But at Sunset, two previous additions to the property helped make a complex financing structure that had to be untangled before we could take possession and start this work—and that challenge made this project unique.”

Ultimately a number of people including Congressman King, Iowa’s Senators Grassley and Ernst, staff from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Iowa Finance Authority, and others all worked together to help find a way to manage the situation and preserve the homes of Sunset residents for many years to come.

With parts of the building now at 50 years in service, building mechanical systems and the elevators have been stretched to their limits and will be upgraded or replaced. In addition, refreshed apartments will feature resident-friendly features like in-unit laundry, and enhanced energy efficiency. As smaller efficiency apartments are enlarged and modernized, the number of apartments available will decrease slightly to 91 when work concludes.

Work on the property will begin immediately with construction completed in 2019.  Funds for the work were provided by the Iowa Finance Authority’s housing tax credit program and senior revolving loan fund program as well as the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines. The project’s contractor is Midstates Builders, Inc. of Spencer and the architects are ASK Studio of Des Moines.

Sunset Apartments also received considerable support from the Clay County Community Foundation which awarded the property a maximum $10,000 community betterment grant in April, 2018.

Founded in 1994 in nearby Graettinger, Iowa, Community Housing Initiatives now serves communities statewide. When Sunset renovations are complete, CHI will offer 231 apartments in Spencer including 143 exclusively for seniors. Most recently, the organization opened Southern Pointe Apartments, 30 three and four bedroom apartments in town in 2016.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Staff assembled little free libraries which will be placed at CHI apartment communities to allow anyone who wishes to take or leave a book.

It is part family reunion, part training seminar, and part service event as 33 staff of Community Housing Initiatives converge on Spencer Thursday and Friday this week for their annual company retreat.  Throughout, the two days of events give a look at what it’s like to provide Northwest Iowans a quality place to live at a rent they can afford.

CHI staff teams will put the finishing touches on a playground at Southern Pointe Apartments, a new 30 unit property that opened on the south side of Spencer last year that is now almost fully leased. They will update landscaping and the clubhouse building at Spencer Manor, an apartment community on the north side of town that CHI acquired in 2015.  Staff also receive a range of training and collaboration opportunities while in town.

Founded in nearby Graettinger in 1994, Community Housing Initiatives offers affordable apartments in 30 cities in Iowa, some as far away as Ottumwa and Clinton across the state.  But with the organization preparing to take over Sunset Retirement Home in Spencer, the organization’s commitment to its Northwest Iowa home is as strong as ever.

CONTINUING TO INVEST IN SPENCER

Sunset retirement home will receive significant updates next year.

Community Housing Initiative’s latest effort in Spencer is to take over the Sunset Retirement Home which currently offers 100 one-bedroom and efficiency apartments.  Opened in three phases between 1965 and 1997, the property has been a vital option for hundreds of seniors in the community, but after as long as a half century in service, the property is in need of significant upgrades.

Earlier this year, Community Housing Initiatives successfully received housing tax credits which will finance a renovation to Sunset, with the bulk of the work taking place in 2018.  The renovation will consolidate smaller efficiency apartments into larger one-bedroom floor plans, bringing the total number of apartments to 91 when work is complete.  Apartments will also get welcome upgrades like in-unit laundry, new appliances, and more.  The building will be open throughout the renovations, which are expected to be complete in 2019.

Sunset presents a different challenge than CHI’s most recent project in Spencer, the 30-apartment Southern Pointe development on the city’s south side.

Southern Pointe Apartments.

“Southern Pointe was a chance to add housing with large three and four bedroom apartments for families, after we heard again and again from local leaders the area needed more housing in this niche,” said Kris Vodraska, CHI’s director of construction.

“Our work at Sunset has a very different goal—in this case to keep existing apartments for seniors available for years to come.  It’s a different niche in the community, but one which we are just as fortunate to be able to fill because a lot of folks depend on properties like Sunset to have a decent place to live on a fixed income,” she said.

Iowa is already home to the nation’s 14^th highest percentage of population over 65, and the state’s senior population is growing, so providing housing that meets the needs of seniors an increasingly important priority.  As the state’s population is aging, so is its supply of affordable housing, adding urgency to the challenge of keeping properties like Sunset in good condition.

HOUSING OPENS DOORS TO MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN LIFE

For housing to be “affordable,” most experts agree it should not cost more than about 1/3 of a household’s income.  For many Iowans, though, finding suitable housing can stretch the paycheck much further – research shows as many as 1 in 5 Iowa renter households devote more than half their paycheck to they place they live.

A range of government programs and private investors help close that gap, and as a private nonprofit, CHI utilizes those resources to offer apartments that are within reach for those in need in the community.

“Our residents are a reflection of the community, retired people, families who need a good place for their kids, your friends and neighbors around town.  Everybody knows Spencer is a nice place to live, and we are happy to help put that in reach for more people,” said Brittany Spieker, CHI’s regional property manager for the area.

Indeed, the many benefits affordable housing provides are well documented. Safe, decent, and affordable housing stabilizes families and is related to better health outcomes. Children who grow up in stable housing tend to perform better in school and show fewer behavioral problems. Having affordable housing in communities boosts economic growth by ensuring all segments of the workforce have a quality place to live.

GOING THE EXTRA MILE

The service projects CHI staff will complete at Spencer Manor this week are part of a group of projects staff are completing around the state known the organization calls “Strategic Investment.” That means residents at the apartment community have met multiple times to offer their input on what updates they would  like to see at the property, and now CHI staff are gathering to deliver the work.

“We offer more than just apartments, we want our properties to be great places to live.  That means we try to have the best relationship we can with residents and offer them opportunities to get involved and get connected with their neighbors,” Spieker said.

The service projects are funded by NeighborWorks America, a national network of nonprofits to which CHI belongs that has created opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing for more than 35 years.

“At some point each year, everyone in the organization, from the board and the president on down, is involved in direct programs that serve our residents.  Staff value the opportunity to visit our properties and remember who we are here to serve,” Spieker said.

This post was updated after the event to include photos on June 27.

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