116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Construction underway on historic Cedar Rapids house to provide two refugee families with homes
Nonprofit Matthew 25 hopes project will be completed by end of year
May. 27, 2025 5:30 am, Updated: May. 27, 2025 2:56 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — The revitalization of the Coe-Paul House, originally built in the 1860s in the Wellington Heights neighborhood, is underway and will provide affordable housing for two families by the end of the year.
After being vacant for about 17 years, this house at 1316 Third Ave. SE, which was once one of the “most endangered historic houses” in Cedar Rapids, has been renovated as a result of a partnership between St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and the nonprofit Matthew 25.
“We are just beginning the work and hope to be done by the end of the year,” Clint Twedt-Ball, founder and executive director of Matthew 25, told The Gazette. “There’s a lot of work to do.”
St. Paul’s mission committee in 2022 decided the renovation would be best for the neighborhood. They didn’t want the house to be demolished and lose an important piece of history, but they didn’t have the skills or resources to preserve the home.
Twedt-Ball said the church reached out to Matthew 25, which helped repair more than 700 homes following the 2008 floods and 2020 derecho.
The congregation “generously” donated the property and $150,000 to Matthew 25 to help make “their dream a reality,” he said.
Matthew 25 raised additional funds through the City of Cedar Rapids, Housing Fund for Linn County, Cedar Rapids ARPA, Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Fund and others, Twedt-Ball said. Matthew 25 is now just $75,000 away from securing all the necessary funding to complete the $490,000 project for the two units.
“Our goal is to rent to refugee families at or below 30 percent of area median income,” Twedt-Ball said.
Johnathan Heifner, lead pastor of St. Paul’s UMC, in a statement said, “Our congregation loves Wellington Heights! We feel blessed to call such a thriving, diverse and historic community our home. As a faith community, we believe in resurrection and new life. We want to do everything we can to bring this house back so that it might give more families the opportunity to thrive.”
Twedt-Ball agreed, saying the nonprofit appreciates its partnership with St. Paul’s.
“Over the last 17 years, we’ve worked hard to strengthen core Cedar Rapids neighborhoods,” Twedt-Ball said. “We know the impact one abandoned house can have on all the properties around it. This home has had a significantly negative impact on the block surrounding it for nearly two decades.”
Coe-Paul house has ‘interesting’ history
The property was originally part of 80 acres owned by the Ely family and sold to Coe College for $1,000 in 1854, Twedt-Ball said. The college built the original one-story, five-room house as a residence for a farmer hired by Coe to work with students farming the land.
The produce would then be used by the college and the work of the students would help offset their cost of tuition. In 1882, as Coe College was facing financial struggles, they sold the home to the Paul Family.
The Paul family added a second story to the house for their daughter. Eventually, she moved to the first floor and rented out the top floor. Some people believe one of the renters may have been the renowned architect Louis Sullivan, who designed St. Paul’s in the early 1910s.
Paul family members continued to live in the house until the early 1970s, Twedt-Ball said. After this, Ray Westrom, a local antique appraiser and real estate manager, purchased the home. Westrom owned it until his death, when the house was acquired by St. Paul’s UMC.
Fundraising for the project is ongoing. Those interested in supporting the restoration of the Coe-Paul House should reach out to Matthew 25 at 319-362-2214 or send an email to info@matthew-25.org.
Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com
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