The outlook for two affordable housing projects in Dallas County — one in Urbandale and another in Waukee — shows how tough competition for funding can be.
The planned Line Seven apartment complex in Urbandale will receive $1 million in workforce housing tax credits, part of more than $39.8 million in tax credit awards the Iowa Economic Development Authority announced Tuesday, Sept. 8.
But the planned Bluestem Village community in Waukee, a partnership between the city and the Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity and HOME Inc. nonprofit organizations, did not receive the $780,000 in tax credits it applied for.
Hubbell Realty Co. said in a news release that it plans to start construction this fall on the first 135-unit, $23 million phase of Line Seven at NW 142nd Street and Waterford Road in a section of Urbandale between Waukee and Grimes. The first phase is scheduled to be completed in late 2027.
Plans call for the complex ultimately to have 225 apartments in five buildings, including 15 designated as affordable for residents earning 60% to 80% of the area median income. For a single person in Dallas County, that would be from $48,900 to $65,200. For a family of four, it would be from $69,840 to $93,120.
The complex will be a mix of studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. "Located within the Waukee Northwest School District, Line Seven supports Urbandale's goal of diversifying housing opportunities while meeting growing demand for quality rental living," Hubbell said in the news release.
Bluestem Village would be a 52-unit, owner-occupied development at the southwest corner of the intersection of NW Douglas Parkway and N Warrior Lane, about 5 miles southwest of the Line Seven site.
"We are scheduled to meet with Habitat and Home Inc. to discuss what our other options are," Nick Osborne, Waukee's assistant city administrator, told the Des Moines Register on Wednesday.
Osborne said construction on Bluestem Village will not begin until complete funding is available.
"This is a fiercely competitive program and unfortunately, our project did not receive funding," he said.
In the meantime, progress is continuing at the northwest corner of the intersection on the separate Walnut Crossing affordable housing project, a partnership between Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity and the city.
Danny Akright, spokesperson for Habitat, said Bluestem Village would include a mix of home styles aimed at various income levels, giving it more of a neighborhood feel.
Osborne said the housing options would include townhomes, duplexes and small single-family homes with varied square footage and numbers of bedrooms.
He said 36 units would be designated for people earning 60% to 80% of the area median income and 16 units would be for people earning up to 100% of the area median income. For a single person, that would be $81,500 and for a family of four, $116,400.
"They're not rich folks. They're working folks," Akright said.
Osborne said Waukee residents will get first preference for spots in the development.
Habitat and HOME Inc. would build 26 homes each.
Osborne said the city has committed to provide $970,000 for the project. Habitat and HOME Inc. will each need to provide about $1.2 million.
Mortgages, home sales and the $780,000 in workforce housing tax credits would cover the rest of the construction costs.
Construction of all 52 units would take about three years, he said.
Habitat's Walnut Crossing development is a $13 million, 48-townhome complex for people earning up to 80% of the area median income. With about a quarter of the units completed or under construction, it will be Habitat's largest development to date in Iowa.
Each townhome will be about 1,300 square feet. Built as duplexes and fourplexes, most of the homes will have three bedrooms, but some will have as many as five bedrooms. All will have at least two bathrooms.
Akright said Sept. 2 that six units already were occupied. Another six are under construction. Completion is slated in 2028, he said.
Habitat broke ground in April 2025 for the project, which received $720,000 in workforce housing tax credits.
Walnut Crossing and the site for Bluestem Village originally were part of a plan for a private, Wisconsin-based developer to build two 64-unit townhome complexes. Those plans fell through in 2023 when the city did not receive a competitive, low-income tax credit from the Iowa Finance Authority to fill a funding gap for the work.
A second set of plans with the same developer also fell through when that project again failed to receive low-income housing tax credits.
Competition is intense for tax credits, grants and other sources of funding for affordable housing, according to the city's website.
"Labor and materials cost the same to build affordable housing as any other similar development, but the units need to sell or rent for less than market rate," it said. "This makes it challenging for developers to take on these projects."
Workforce housing tax credits the Iowa Economic Development Authority allocated Tuesday for other projects in the Des Moines metro were:
$1 million for the 96-unit Bondurant Lofts in Bondurant.
$381,019 for 20 units at the planned Kingman Place Townhomes in Des Moines' Drake neighborhood.
$238,509 for 14 units at the University of Commerce Historic Renovation in Des Moines' Highland Park neighborhood.
$881,628 for 50 units of the Indianola Townhomes in Indianola.
$563,626 for 30 units at the Trail's Edge Apartments in Pleasant Hill.
Phillip Sitter covers the suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at [email protected]. Find out more about him online in the Register's staff directory.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mixed results for affordable housing fund awards in Urbandale, Waukee