Belle Plaine apartment rents by the day

BELLE PLAINE - It's been several years since there was a hotel in this city in Benton County.

And while there still won't be a hotel this holiday season, there now is a place in town that rents by the day.

Jerilyn DeRaad, owner of Double Take Design, opened the Main Street Getaway at the beginning of November above her business on Main Street.

The second-floor studio apartment has a kitchenette, laundry room and bathroom. With a queen-sized bed, a day bed with a trundle pullout and a sofa, the apartment can accommodate up to five people. DeRaad said the apartment is within walking distance of bars and shopping. Smoking and pets are not permitted.

'We've had a lot of really positive comments,” DeRaad said. 'We've had a lot of people interested in it for the holidays.”

DeRaad said the space formerly held two apartments, but after moving her interior design and floor covering business to the lower level of the building in 2010, she saw that the the apartments needed a lot of work.

'The roof had been leaking and there was water damage,” De Raad said. The space was converted into one apartment, and after a long-term renter moved out recently, more repairs were made.

Instead of seeking another long-term renter, DeRaad decided to try making the apartment available to the public for $50 a night.

Mitch Malcolm, president of the Belle Plaine Historical Society, said the closest hotels to Belle Plaine are in Tama or off Interstate 80. There have been a few bed-and- breakfasts in town over the years, 'but that's pretty taxing,” he said, 'and a lot of people kind of got burned out after awhile.”

'We have a lot of people who come (to Belle Plaine) from out of town planning family vacations, and a lot of people who travel the Lincoln Highway,” Malcolm said. 'A lot of people will want to stay here and want to explore the area for a few days and there's nowhere to stay. It's really frustrating.”

Malcolm said it's 'really kind of fun” to have something like the Main Street Getaway in a 'small town” such as Belle Plaine.

'This is such a great new place,” Malcolm said. 'It's upstairs so it's a little limited to the people who can use it, but I'm sure they're more than willing to help people with luggage and that sort of thing.”

DeRaad said she had never been a landlord before moving into the building.

'We've been very blessed with having good tenants so far, but this will be a new venture for us,” DeRaad said. 'We're just waiting to see how it works.”

For more information on the Main Street Getaway, call (319) 560-7420.