No affordable rental homes completed in Des Moines in 2023, report says

Des Moines missed most of its goals for affordable housing last year, according to a report the city is preparing to submit to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The failure comes at a time when, nationwide, housing costs are continuing to soar and even contributing to a health crisis, according to a November study published in the peer-reviewed journal Social Science & Medicine

No new affordable rental units were brought online in 2023, and no units were rehabilitated. Further, Des Moines failed to achieve, even in part, its goal of assisting 35 households facing homelessness with "rapid rehousing."

Lisa Crabbs, the city's federal funds administrator, pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as a factor in Des Moines' lagging performance, noting that the city's 2020 four-year master plan to address community housing needs "was impacted from the start." Projects currently underway are expected to help the city close the gap in 2024, the plan's final year.

If Des Moines continues to underperform, HUD can flag it for further monitoring, Crabbs added. The city received $5.2 million in project funding last year, but she said no funds will be lost.

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"There are consequences if the city misses its goals, but it’s usually a whole evaluation of factors, not based on the goals alone," she said.

What goals did Des Moines meet?

Des Moines had some successes in 2023. With the help of federal dollars, Des Moines it met its goals of inspecting 5,000 properties and assisting 2,425 homeless people with finding shelter overnight, more than doubling its original figure of 1,000.

The city also helped get nine new affordable homeowner housing units built — only three less than its target of 12 — each with direct financial assistance for its buyer. Habitat for Humanity built all the units with HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds, the largest federal block grant program for state and local governments creating housing for low-income households.

What's the status on affordable units under construction?

Though few projects crossed the finish line last year, several are expected to boost to Des Moines' 2024 report.

Near completion is the Star Lofts, a mixed-use building on the site of the former Star gas station on Ingersoll Avenue. When it's done, it will offer 20 affordable units for tenants at various income levels, two of which will be HOME-funded. Twenty percent of the units will be reserved for tenants who earn 30% of the area median income. Another 20% will rent at 60% area median income and the remainder at 80%.

For an individual, the median income for the Des Moines metro in 2023, according to HUD, was $73,062, and for a family, $105,600.

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Professor Holdings, registered to Hua Sun, an associate professor of finance at Iowa State University, already rehabbed seven of its rental units, four of which will be affordable. The company received $80,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds. While construction was completed in late 2023, the units weren't leased till this year.

In the Highland Park neighborhood, 3614 Sixth Ave., once home to the Hiland Dry Goods and Shoe Store, is being redeveloped with four apartment units upstairs, three of which will be affordable to tenants earning 60% or less of the area median income. Developers Tim and Chloe Bratvold received $500,000 in block grant funding in 2023 and expect the project to be finished by this fall.

Finally, BTB Investments 2 — owned by Tyler Tompkins and Brad Lowe of Spire Property Management — is rehabbing 40 rental units, most of which are single-family homes. All will be affordable. BTB received $1 million in block grant funds in 2023, and work will be carried out over the next four years as properties become vacant.

Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at 608-931-1761 and ALathers@registermedia.com, and follow her on Twitter at @addisonlathers.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines fails to meet affordable housing goals for 2023