116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa Ideas: Partnerships key to Iowa’s growth, workforce solutions
Iowa Ideas panels include housing rehab and economic development
In an economy that’s challenged new development projects and strained individual household bank accounts, those who help keep Iowa’s economic development wheel turning say partnerships are key to the state’s growth.
From getting new projects off the ground to maintaining housing stock to finding a way to provide workers with child care, it takes local and state governments working in tandem with businesses and developers to provide the amenities that today’s workforce demands. That’s especially true as more than three years after COVID-19 began its global spread, supply chain complications and workforce shortages — as well as rising interest rates — threaten new development in Iowa.
Marion-based developer Chad Pelley of Twenty40 Building Concepts, who is set to participate in a 2023 Iowa Ideas panel on keeping construction moving despite the current economic environment, said this multipronged approach is key to ensuring sorely needed new housing and other development gets off the ground. Sign up for the Oct. 12 and 13 free virtual conference at iowaideas.com.
Take, for example, a site in Cedar Rapids’ New Bohemia District that languished for years after the 2008 flood and — with a development team led by Pelley — soon will be revitalized. Fulton Lofts will offer commercial space, 34 new market-rate rental housing units and other amenities such as a rooftop gathering space.
That project will transform empty city-owned land at 1218 to 1310 Third St. SE, with support from an incremental tax reimbursement up to a $1.67 million net present value from the city, and a combined $1.56 million in state workforce housing and brownfield/grayfield tax credits.
“Without all of those, we could not have brought that project to the market and started it,” Pelley said. “At the end of the day, these projects equal jobs — local jobs during construction and after construction. They offer housing that's much needed — diverse housing — they offer places for businesses. It's almost like a plasma ball: You need all of these things to have a thriving ecosystem in a neighborhood.”
According to the Iowa Finance Authority, Iowa needs an additional 42,000 homes by 2030 to keep up with demand in a state where the housing stock is among the oldest in the nation. Another Iowa Ideas session will explore how communities are working creatively to address the quality and condition of existing housing stock in their communities, and another will discuss next steps for 3D printed housing.
Communities need that growth collectively so there are patrons dining at restaurants, working in the offices and spending their money to fuel the economy, Pelley said.
Pelley said he’s encouraged by the willingness of local and state governments to work together and try to solve the puzzle because all parties understand the economic development climate is challenging. He also said the state’s competitive tax credit programs “bring out the best of the best” in projects.
“Working together, we can get through it,” Pelley said. “It’s amazing what a lot of people with a common goal can accomplish when everybody puts their head together.”
Emily Schmitt, chief administrative officer and general counsel of Sheffield-based Sukup Manufacturing, said the first things that people consider when moving into a neighborhood are housing, schools and other amenities.
Knowing that, she said it’s critical that smaller towns learn from larger towns how to attract housing projects, but state workforce housing tax credits can go a long way toward getting financial support to spur development in areas that need it.
“Having a vibrant rural community is just as important as supporting our urban areas,” Schmitt said. “Otherwise, the rural areas will just continue to decline in population.”
Schmitt, who is participating in an Iowa Ideas panel on coming together for the greater economic good, said Sukup is working on a development in Clear Lake to bring another hub of housing, businesses and services to the area. And Sukup also has worked to create more child care options, leveraging a state grant to create a Sheffield facility that will accommodate 150 child care slots.
The political climate can make it challenging to pursue development in some areas, she said, but businesses can work to spearhead solutions.
“We’ve got to be the drivers,” Schmitt said.
Economic Development track
Home rehabilitation initiatives — 10:10 a.m. Oct. 12
This session will look at creative ways communities are working to address the quality and condition of housing stock. It will look at how communities solved funding issues with builders and homeowners and got homes updated. We’ll also look at communities that found ways to lessen the risk to homebuilders for working in communities eager to update homes.
Keeping construction — 11:15 a.m. Oct. 12
Forward motion for development projects can be challenged with supply chain issues and construction costs. What are developers doing to create workarounds?
The under-maintained building — 1:20 p.m. Oct. 12
The situation that unfolded in May in Davenport with the partial collapse of a downtown building is a scenario that no community wants to experience. The reality is, under-maintained buildings exist all across the state. How can communities work to address them? What lessons can be learned to prevent future disasters?
Coming together for greater economic good — 2:25 p.m. Oct. 12
Some Iowa communities have banded together to find creative solutions on issues such as raising wages for child care workers and resolving access barriers to critical resources. This session will hear from communities that have built momentum by tackling the challenges and building economic strategies at a local level.
Next steps for 3D printed homes — 8:30 a.m. Oct. 13
Iowa built its first 3D-printed homes this summer in Muscatine and Iowa City, with developers keenly interested in this as an option for rural communities. We’ll look at the construction, the development of training courses to build a workforce and what was learned during construction.
Customized employment — 9:40 a.m. Oct. 13
A session on Iowans who advocate individualized employment for people with disabilities, and how this approach is addressing Iowa’s workforce challenges.
The solar neighbor — 10:45 a.m. Oct. 13
Proposals to build larger solar arrays have run into significant and costly challenges in Iowa (and many other places). Does it always have to be that way? We’ll look at whether residents and businesses have been able to work together in planning processes to advance projects or define community benefits in less-heated ways.
Economic development track schedule: iowaideas.com/topics/econdev
Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters