Community Housing Initiatives Receives $25,000 Grant from NeighborWorks America to Aid in Flood Disaster Response in Spencer, Iowa

Spencer, IA — [October 2, 2024] — Community Housing Initiatives (CHI) is proud to announce receiving a $25,000 grant from NeighborWorks America. These critical funds play a vital role in supporting ongoing disaster recovery efforts following the severe flooding that hit Spencer, Iowa in June. The floods caused widespread damage, affecting hundreds of residents and severely impacting housing and public infrastructure. It's estimated that 65% of the city's rental properties were affected.

The flooding also led to the loss of 17 affordable housing units at CHI Spencer, adding to the challenges faced by the community. CHI is currently seeking additional funding and collaborating with the city to help Spencer build back better.

In response to the grant, Deletta Dean, Regional Vice President of NeighborWorks America’s Midwest Region, stated, "We are pleased to provide Community Housing Initiatives with this $25,000 grant to support their critical disaster response and flood recovery efforts in Spencer, Iowa. NeighborWorks America recognizes the tremendous impact that severe flooding has had on the Spencer community, and we are honored to support CHI. We are grateful for CHI's resilience and commitment to maintaining community health, and we are proud to stand alongside them in this endeavor. Together, we will continue to strengthen communities across the Midwest Region, even in the face of adversity."

CHI has been actively working with local and national partners to assist the community in the aftermath of the flood, which displaced over 400 Spencer residents. Collaborative efforts with the City of Spencer, FEMA, The Red Cross, the National Guard, the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA), and the Clay County Housing and Crisis Teams have been crucial in providing emergency relief, temporary housing, and essential services.

About Community Housing Initiatives

Community Housing Initiatives, (CHI) is Iowa’s largest non-profit housing provider. Since 1993, CHI has worked closely with communities ranging in population from 800 to 200,000 serving the sole charitable purpose of creating housing solutions that meet community needs and provide comprehensive services for residents.

As one of the most successful developers and managers of affordable rental housing in Iowa, CHI has generated or preserved over 1,600 affordable housing units offered at below market rates. CHI has also worked with state and local governments, civic groups, and non-profit organizations to promote the development of safe, affordable, and accessible rental housing.

CHI has invested over $270 million in Iowa communities. For 30 years, CHI has re-invested all income from development and rental properties directly back into Iowa communities.

About NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America is a congressionally chartered nonprofit that supports community development and affordable housing efforts across the United States. Their grant programs provide critical resources to help communities recover from disasters and strengthen housing resilience.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Savannah Minnick
Director of Marketing and Communications
515-350-8164 | [email protected]

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Brittany Spieker, with CHI, worked with volunteers to coordinate delivery at Sunset Apartments later in the afternoon. Grand Avenue Community Kitchen also began warm meal delivery on Monday and Thursday evenings while maintaining its existing drive-thru options. Any Spencer senior in need of food or meal delivery while remaining at home, along with anyone wishing to volunteer or provide financial support toward the ongoing outreach effort, should contact [email protected].

This was the first of what will be regular monthly deliveries to Spencer seniors as part of a collaboration between GACO's His Hands Extended food program, ATLAS of Spencer and Community Housing Initiatives. Photo by Randy M. Cauthron, The Daily Reporter.

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We want to work together, as a team, as more information becomes available to us. Please read this information and share with your family. 

In the meantime, simple steps can be taken to make sure we are doing our best to stop the spread of germs. Here are a few other things you can do (teach your children to do the same!) to keep your family healthy and help prevent the spread of viruses:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Stay away from others who are sick and stay home if you are ill
• Cough and sneeze into a tissue (make sure to throw it away after each use!) or cough and sneeze into your arm or elbow, not your hands
• Clean and disinfect household objects and surfaces in your home, and please take a little extra effort to help your community by disinfecting common areas, railings, door knobs, etc.
• Avoid touching your face

If you or a family member has a fever, cough, and/or shortness of breath, please see your doctor immediately. This is very important. Also, if you are sick, we ask that you hold basic work orders until you have been cleared from illness.

We also ask that you let your regional manager know if you test positive for the coronavirus (contact info is below). Your information will be kept private and will only be used to help us continue education to our family of residents.

Central Regional Manager’s Name: MONICA GREER
Tel: 515-223-0029  Email: [email protected]

Northwest Regional Manager’s Name: ALICIA ROOS
Tel: 712-262-5965  Email: [email protected]

Sioux City Regional Manager’s Name: JULIE SCOTT
Tel: 712-224-2233  Email: [email protected]

Eastern Regional Manager’s Name: PAULA GOURLEY
Tel: 319-362-1020  Email: [email protected]

Clinton Regional Manager’s Name: BEVERLY PETERSEN
Tel: 563-242-0045  Email: [email protected]

We are here to help answer any questions you have.

Thank you,
CHI Resident Services
 

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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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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.

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Southern Pointe Apartments is our latest new apartment community, offering 3 and 4 bedroom apartments in Spencer, Iowa.  The building offers larger apartments that are badly needed in Clay County and the Iowa Great Lakes Region generally, and it brings together a lot of what we’ve learned from almost 25 years developing apartment buildings that meet community needs for our neighbors in Iowa.

Recently, Casie Tindell from ASK Studio, our architect partner on Southern Pointe (and numerous other projects), wrote this article highlighting one particularly innovative element of Southern Pointe’s construction:  the use of an innovative structural panel to create the building’s outside walls.  It’s a great look behind the scenes of offering Southern Pointe to the community.  Here’s Casie with more:

Affordable housing and innovation often seem to be disparate terms. Innovation in construction is often synonymous with expense…the antithesis of affordable. Designers and developers need to challenge the status quo of construction to make it affordable. Innovation can mean cost savings. It is not a simple search, but one worth pursuing.

Community Housing Initiatives’ project, Southern Pointe, was led by construction director Kris Vodraska. Kris had a vision of building a highly efficient complex by combing highly insulated envelope systems in concert with high efficiency mechanical systems. Kris and ASK Studio researched suppliers of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and discussed cost impact with possible general contractors. The SIPs method of construction has many sustainable features that would impact the affordability of the homes being created. The judicious use of resources in construction and the need for quality insulation against stiff Northwest Iowa winds are things that can rarely be changed after the open house. Making the best decisions for decades to come was the charge of Kris to the design and construction teams.

Demand for wood products has increased world-wide as other countries flourish during their own industrial revolutions. As a result, we are faced with rising costs of building materials. Prices can fluctuate wildly due to many factors, including increased demand due to natural disasters like hurricanes and floods. Add to this the cost of energy needed to heat and cool new housing and it is difficult to predict what the cost of building and owning a home will be in the future. All things considered, standard building methods are no longer as affordable as they once were.

SIPs combine structurally rated interior and exterior sheathing with a rigid, solid core of insulation in one composite panel. The sheathing is a structurally engineered oriented strand board (OSB) which is made from fast-growth trees harvested from managed plantations and self-regenerating woodlands. SIPs are structural, so there is usually no need for a framework of wood or steel studs. SIPs create a continuous whole-wall system with virtually no gaps, breaks or air infiltration that are current with wood or steel enclosure systems. The result is a tightly constructed building with lower heating and cooling fuel consumption and lower energy costs, while maintaining exceptional living comfort.

Technology for this kind of construction has long been on the drawing board among housing experts, but today it is a reality with SIPs at Southern Pointe. State-of-the-art SIP manufacturing is accomplished with computer-guided machinery and specialized software. This software converts building plans directly to machines which can quickly cut panels with amazing precision. After the SIPs are delivered to the job site, they can be assembled in hours or days instead of weeks. The time study publishing company, RSMeans, indicates that construction with SIPs can save 55% of erection time compared to stick construction. The reality of saving heating and cooling energy of up to 50% or more with SIPs is driving the SIP market today.

The use of SIPs panels allowed a condensed construction schedule at Southern Pointe, ability to work in harsh winter months and an ability to keep a project moving in a time of labor and material shortages. The resultant apartments have low utility bills and almost no outside noises can be heard in the units. The units will be comfortable and efficient for residents for decades with no need to add more insulation later.  Southern Pointe is proof that new construction methods can be used in providing affordable housing. The first costs are achievable and the long-term value is indisputable.

Construction photos used in this post are courtesy of ASK Studio.

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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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