Waukee housing project gets 2nd chance

Approval for low-income townhome complex will depend on approval of housing tax credit from state

Waukee City Council has approved the first steps in attempting to revive an affordable housing project that hit a snag last year when it failed to secure a low-income housing tax credit from the state.

The city wants to build affordable housing on a 13.6-acre parcel at North Warrior Lane and Northeast Douglas Parkway. The parkway splits the property into northern and southern sections.

The original proposal called for two 64-unit townhome complexes, one on each side of the road, to be built by Wisconsin-based Northpointe Development.

However, an agreement on the project between the city and developer was rescinded because Waukee in 2023 did not receive a competitive, 9% low-income housing tax credit through the Iowa Finance Authority.

Not getting the tax credit left a funding gap for the first phase of the project, the townhomes in the southern half of the property.

On March 18, the City Council unanimously approved two resolutions that lay out a plan for the southern portion of the property if the city should succeed this year in getting the housing tax credit, which probably won’t be known until

July or August.

If the city is awarded the tax credit, Northpointe would have the option for nine months to purchase about 61⁄ acres in the southern parcel for $1. That would provide the site for Northpointe to build 46 rental townhomes, with another 14 for owner occupancy to be built by a third party that’s expected to be Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat entered discussions about development of the project after the city’s first attempt at securing a

low-income housing tax credit fell through.

Northpointe would provide the road and utility infrastructure for its 46 townhomes as well as the other 14, said Nick Osborne, who is Waukee’s assistant city administrator.

The rental townhomes would be expected to be affordable for 40 years and would serve people earning 30% to 60% of the area median income, Osborne said.

He said for a one-person household, that range would be about $22,000 to $44,000 and for a four-person household, $30,000 to $62,000.

Osborne said the northern portion of the property would be exclusively developed by Habitat for Humanity, but more information about that would likely be made public in the weeks ahead.

Osborne said Monday that once construction starts on the southern parcel of the property — likely in the spring following the city’s successful receipt of the low-income housing tax credit — it would take about 15 months to complete.

He has previously said local employers have told city officials a lack of affordable housing has been a challenge in attracting workers, especially for entry-level positions.