The following is an excerpt from the Business Record, a Des Moines-based publication that focuses on real estate, development, construction and homebuilding among other efforts.
A recent report from the Center on Rural Innovation suggests there’s a need to rebalance public investment to give rural communities greater access to flexible, locally controlled funding and stronger administrative capacity. The report says that rural communities need more investments in infrastructure, workforce development, entrepreneurship and quality of life initiatives to build long-term economic resilience and growth.
IEDA also offers a workforce housing tax credit to provide tax benefits to developers to build housing, in particular for projects using abandoned, empty or dilapidated properties. About 50% of the available funding is set aside for small cities within the state’s 88 least-populous counties.
Last year, Origin Homes, a subsidiary of Hubbell Realty Co., broke ground on five homes in Conrad, a town of 1,100 in Grundy County. The homes, priced between $290,000 and $330,000, were part of the company’s Rural Housing Initiative. Workforce housing tax credits from the Iowa Economic Development Authority will be used to offset the costs to homebuyers.
Read the full story HERE.
To learn more about Origin Homes and their Rural Housing Initiative, check out:
