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.

The post Innovative structural panels create a more energy efficient Southern Pointe appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.

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.

The post Service activities highlight Community Housing Initiatives continued commitment to Spencer appeared first on Community Housing Initiatives News.