Iowa Finance Authority Awards Tax Credits to Two Proposed Housing Projects in Perry
Two proposed multifamily housing unit projects in Perry will receive funding help from the Iowa Finance Authority.
The Authority’s Board of Directors announced Thursday that 13 different projects have been awarded a total of $83.7 million to build and preserve 523 affordable housing units in Iowa.
Among them are two new construction projects in Perry. The first is a proposal from Newbury Living and the Nudgers Incorporated to build 32 affordable housing units for seniors at 2023 Willis Avenue, also known as the old middle school site. The Hamlin Bell Senior Housing project has been awarded $517,628 in tax credits, along with another $1 million in HOME, or federal block grant funds.
Bear Development’s Willis Avenue Apartments project to build 34 affordable units for families at 913 Willis Avenue has also been approved for tax credit funds in the amount of $437,799.
The Iowa Finance Authority received 23 applications requesting more than $13.2 million in housing tax credits. The actual awards exceed $78 million because the credits are committed annually for a 10 year-period. In addition, more than $4.9 million in state HOME funds were awarded to six different rental housing tax credit projects for 2015.
Perry Hy-Vee Donates $600 to St. Patrick’s Catholic School
St. Patrick’s Catholic School in Perry is closer to their goal of purchasing new playground equipment and a dishwasher thanks to local shoppers and the Perry Hy-Vee.
Late last month, the school and grocery store paired up for a fundraiser that allowed Hy-Vee customers to state they wanted to support St. Patrick’s during checkout and 10% of their receipt would be donated to the school.
A $599.17 check from the two-day fundraiser was presented to Principal Doug Latham this week. He says the school is very grateful that Hy-Vee stepped up to help.
“We just really appreciate the support they’re giving the school and you know, they’re big players here in the community and we appreciate all that they do.”
Hy-Vee Event Coordinator and Community Involvement Director Larry Vodenik says he got the idea for the fundraiser from another store in Omaha.
“So it’s the people that are directly affected by it that got these coupons, so you’re sort of preaching to the choir. We had really good response. We didn’t know what to expect, we had never done this before. I was happy with the return and everything that we got. We were glad we were able to support the community and particularly in this case, St. Patrick’s School.
Perry Hy-Vee Store Director Darin Schoop says giving back to the local communities has been one of his top priorities since starting the job last year.
“Growing up in this area, it’s great to come back to my hometown and actually give back. I had a lot of good schooling growing up (in the Woodward-Granger School District) but definitely to come back to the town of Perry and learn what I can do for the community. Not just the store, but build the store outside the four walls of it instead of just inside the walls.”
Latham says the plan is to replace their more than 35 year-old dishwasher this summer and new handicap accessible playground equipment in the near future.
Perry Public Works Asks for Pothole Filling Requests
Just because there isn’t snow on the ground for crews to plow, doesn’t mean the work stops for those on our local street departments. The Perry Public Works Department has switched their focus and are now working to smooth out the area roadways.
Public Works Director Jack Butler says they’ve started a pothole list and encourage residents to let them know where the problem areas are.
“If you have any potholes, we’re out right now and we’re doing a temporary patch. It comes in a bag and we buy that in Des Moines. We can come up and we clean the hole out and get it in there, and sometimes it’ll stay but sometimes it won’t. But if you notice a big one in your alley or out in front of your house, give us a shout.”
Once the overnight temperatures stay above freezing consistently and the asphalt plant opens for the season, the department plans to spend a week repairing all of the potholes in town.
If you’d like to report a pothole in your area, call the street department at 465-2675.
No Precipitation Received This Week
It has been another dry week here in the Raccoon River Valley, with no measurable precipitation recorded.
According to the National Weather Service, nearly halfway done with March, Perry has registered no precipitation, Guthrie Center has seen a trace amount and Jefferson has had just one hundredth of an inch.
Normal precipitation levels for March range between two and 2.15 inches locally, while new snow amounts usually range between 3.8 and 4.9 inches.
There is no precipitation in the immediate forecast and temperatures are expected to remain in the sixties through early next week.
Iowa Great Places Designation to Benefit All Raccoon River Valley Trail Communities
The Raccoon River Valley Trail recently received the Iowa Great Place designation from the Department of Cultural Affairs, after submitting an application for their Public Art and Cultural Corridor Initiative.
Trail Association board member and Perry Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bob Wilson says this designation makes grant funding available for a three year period. The first step in the project is the Waukee trailhead, but Wilson says Perry may see some changes down the line too as there is the potential for trail and signage improvements, worth upwards of $200,000 annually.
“It’s going to trickle down into our communities and could potentially be one of the world’s largest public art projects, which is phenomenal. We have 89 miles, we could put public art on the whole thing and we would be a world known destination. So that’s the goal here and we’re going to try and implement these over the next couple of years.”
The first meeting to discuss plans for how to use the designation to its full potential took place last week and Wilson says this is a project he’s proud to be a part of.