The adage of taking something old and making it look new was a glimmer of a mindset almost seven years ago for an idea to convert a structure into rental housing in Jefferson, but now it is coming to fruition.

Chris Deal is one of the leads for the apartment conversion project with the former middle school along Highway 4. He recalls that after the bond referendum passed for a new high school and renovating the former space into the current middle school, he and some others saw potential of turning it into apartments.

“It didn’t work in terms of what’s expected for a present day school building, (but) there’s a heck of a lot of character there. They don’t build buildings like this anymore. Structurally, it is fantastic. And so to be able to now be a part of that, I’m excited for it.” 

When the initial studies were being done back in 2019 with Greene County Development Corporation’s financial support, Deal says there were lots of moving parts, including making sure all financial sources were secured. Those included several state tax credits, such as workforce housing, a downtown housing grant, along with a home loan with the Iowa Finance Authority and arguably the largest portion of funding was through the federal and state historical tax credits, which alone took three years to complete. 

Deal notes that it was ultimately decided that the attached gymnasium that was added onto the 1920’s school building, was historically significant enough that it can’t be torn down or the project wasn’t going to be eligible for the historical tax credits. He is thankful that the last financial component for the $8.5 million project was from the Jefferson City Council approving a $300,000 ten year forgivable loan and a ten year property tax abatement with a multi-family residential project gave them a full green light to start construction.

Deal points out that there are going to be 25 apartments that range from a studio-style to three bedrooms, with at least five of the units being categorized as low to moderate income housing, and it will include an elevator along with keeping in mind the quality of the furnishings.

“All of these, like we want this to be something that is an example for what’s possible with a school project like this. Jefferson has done such a good job of setting a precedent for rural revitalization and we want this project to be a big part of that.”

Deal adds that the general contractor is Woodruff Construction and the anticipated substantial  completion date is June of 2026.