WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — West Des Moines is working to preserve and improve homes in the historic Valley Junction Neighborhood, also known as historic West Des Moines, by launching three programs to better the area.
Christine Gordon, the city's housing and community development manager, said the programs started accepting applications July 1.
The first of the three programs is the home improvement program.
Gordon said this program offers money to help repair items on the outside of a home. The city will match how much the homeowner spends up to $25,000.
The next one is the down payment program.
West Des Moines will match anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000 in the form of loans and grants to purchase homes.
Gordon said this program is in partnership with Iowa Finance Authority and Neighborhood Finance Corporation who are also giving out possible loans and grants.
The third program is the rental acquisition program.
This will allow the city to purchase homes that are being rented then pass them along to local non-profits to renovate. After improvements have been made, the city will sell them to low-income buyers.
Funds for these programs came from Polk County as well as multiple credit unions and banks in the metro. There's over $3.2 million to be given away, and the city is fundraising to get it up to $4 million.
"You can get these down payments anywhere in the community, but if you come to West Des Moines in this particular moment, you're going to get a bonus," Gordon said.
Gordon said these programs will help improve quality of living in historic West Des Moines as well as boost the housing market, particularly by encouraging younger buyers to invest in the area.
"This is important for historic West Des Moines to keep up the housing stock, truly," Gordon said. "We want people to come to West Des Moines. We want people to live here."
Gordon said the city plans to keep these programs going until the funds run out.
People interested in the programs, whether it's buying a new house or selling their current historical rental, can contact city staff at 515-273-0770 or email housing@wdm.iowa.gov.