Affordable housing complex proposed at former Iowa City school site

IOWA CITY — A 187-unit affordable housing complex is being proposed at the site of the former Roosevelt Elementary School nearly four years after the Iowa City Community School District sold the land.

The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission gave unanimous approval to both a comprehensive plan update and rezoning request that will allow for the development.

The school was closed by the district in 2012, and the 9.9-acre property, at 611 Greenwood Dr. in Iowa City, was sold to Indiana-based TWG Development in 2021 for $1.25 million.

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The development team said the delay in bringing a plan to the city was in part due to cost increases related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the scope of the project changing.

The school building still stands on the property.

TWG Development is working with Iowa City-based MMS Consultants Inc., to pursue federal low-income housing tax credits for the project. All the units within the property will be income-restricted based on area median income.

Projects that receive low-income housing tax credits typically have a 30-year guaranteed affordability period.

The units will range in size from one to three bedrooms. The planned complex also includes an interior courtyard and dog park. The development team also is considering adding a fitness center.

“This project is designed to serve working families, seniors and individuals who are currently struggling to find safe, stable, affordable housing. This development will provide long-term affordability while enhancing the surrounding area,” Jackson Taylor, senior development director at TWG Development, said at the commission meeting.

The complex also includes 113 parking spaces on the east side of the property. The city typically, and in this case, waives minimum parking requirements for housing developments with an affordability component.

Planning and Zoning adds condition for additional screening

As a condition of the rezoning request, the Planning and Zoning Commission is requiring the developer to add increased screening measures on the east side of the property, after neighbors expressed concerns.

The enhanced screening will require shrubs or a fence to be between 5 and 6 feet in height, as opposed to 2 to 4 feet.

Members of the public who spoke at the meeting raised concerns about increased traffic in the area around Benton Street. Traffic from the complex will be directed onto Greenwood Drive, and only emergency vehicles will be able to access the complex from Benton Street.

A city traffic study found that no changes needed to be made, other than adding an elevated crosswalk near the complex.

“We do need the affordable housing, and I would hate to vote no on this for that reason, but I still have concerns about the traffic, about the parking, and that, I would hope that the city will look at that periodically,” said commissioner Billie Townsend.

Next Steps

A public hearing on the comprehensive plan update and the rezoning request will be held at the Iowa City Council meeting next Tuesday, Sept. 2.

The city council will be required to approve the rezoning request at three separate readings.

The developer has not yet secured low-income housing tax credits, and a potential construction schedule has not been finalized.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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