Reynolds Introduces Bold Affordable Housing Solutions to Help Iowans

January 13, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DES MOINES, Iowa, January 13, 2021 – The Iowa Housing Partnership, an alliance of nearly 200 Iowa businesses, organizations and advocates promoting affordable housing, commends the Governor on her bold housing plan – which will expand economic growth opportunities and affordable housing options throughout Iowa.

“Affordable housing plays a critical role in Iowa’s economic development.” states Dan Garrett, President of the Iowa Housing Partnership, and a Vice President with WNC, Inc, which provides private equity for affordable housing. “Creating new initiatives and continuing support of proven programs will help the state recover from the devastating economic impact of the derecho and coronavirus pandemic. We applaud Governor Reynolds’ for her bold initiatives and look forward to working with her and the Iowa Legislature on these programs.”

Governor Reynolds recommended the following measures to address affordable housing in Iowa:

Create a state-level housing tax credit to help in the building of affordable housing with funding up to $15 million, which will leverage an additional $23 million of federal incentives.
Doubling funding to Iowa’s very successful Workforce Housing Tax Credit program from $25 million to $50 million.
Expansion of the Redevelopment Credit from $10 to $20 million, which enables the redevelopment of brownfield and greyfields throughout Iowa’s communities.
Increasing funding to the State Housing Trust Funds by removing the cap on the real estate transfer tax

“People working in their community should also be able to live in their communities. With few exceptions, rural Iowa’s housing stock is old and rural families are struggling to keep up, states Rick Hunsaker, a Board Member and Executive Director of Region 12 Council of Governments, “the Governor’s program will leverage local, state and federal dollars to make a real impact on the housing in rural Iowa.”

Reynolds Introduces Bold Affordable Housing Solutions to Help Iowans

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

QUICKLINKS