GRINNELL, Iowa — A new round of tax credits is helping communities across the state build more housing for residents. Those credits, distributed by the Iowa Finance Authority, have surpassed $13 million this year for 11 cities.
One of those housing projects can be seen in Grinnell. A building built in the 1950s will soon be gone, and City Manager Russ Behrens told Local 5 a much-needed housing project will be constructed in its place.
It's thanks in part to those federal tax credits. This year, developers in Grinnell have received nearly $1.7 million to add 87 housing units in the city.
These and other ongoing projects are increasing housing in Grinnell by 8%.
"There's definitely been a shift to recruiting people and really building that human capital aspect of a community and housings an important part of that," said Behrens.
Ashley Jared, communications director with the Iowa Finance Authority, said these development impact communities and lives.
"Economic mobility for families really increases once they have that affordable housing unit as well as communities themselves of any size because the folks that live there spend their dollars in those communities in which they live," said Jared.
Behrens, who's raised his family in Grinnell, said it's a step closer to the future for this storied community.
"I don't want to say that the issue has been solved, but we're at least not behind the curve," Behrens said. "Now we're at, I believe, we're kind of caught up and we can ask ourselves, 'What's next?'"
A lot of those units in Grinnell will become available over the next couple of years. Some will be available at market rates while others will be tied to a family's income.
Behrens told Local 5 the City of Grinnell wants to attract families and young professionals because once they leave, it's hard to get them back.