Lt. Governor Gregg Gets First-hand Look At 712 Lofts Progress

Iowa Lt.Gov. Adam Gregg made a stop in Glenwood last Tuesday to get a first-hand look at the 712 Lofts apartment complex under construction on the former site of the Glen Haven nursing home.

Developer Ryan Sell gave Gregg, city officials and members of the Mills County Chamber of Commerce and Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) a guided tour of the complex that will house 26 apartment units and a free-standing house.

Most of the apartments will have three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but there will also be some two- and one-bedroom units, Sell noted. He expects the three-bedroom units to be popular with families.

“With the school (Northeast Elementary) right down the hill, this is a great place for kids or moms and dads with their kids,” Sell said. “There’s no maintenance and you still have a nice place to live.”

The project has been partially funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Housing dollars made available following the 2019 Missouri River flooding event. Developers who participate in the program are required to give priority to persons displaced by the flooding.

Glenwood is the only community receiving assistance from SWIPCO in the 2019 Disaster Recovery Program that has developers building both rental units and for-sale houses.

Gregg said the housing programs are beneficial to communities like Glenwood.

“We’ve got a wide variety of housing programs – apartments, homes,” he said. “Communities are appreciating it because you have a healthy mix of single-family homes and multi-family homes. It helps you meet those needs.”

Gregg said he believes the opportunity made available by projects like 712 Lofts is attractive to young people.

“I personally think it helps recruit a new generation to town that maybe aren’t in the position to sign their first 30-year mortgage with their first job, but could take on an apartment lease,” he said.

Sell touted the benefits of the Disaster Recover Housing program and the assistance he’s received from SWIPCO and the Iowa Department Of Economic Development.

“This has been huge for our community,” he said. “In order to bring people back or make the population grow for the county, we need programs like this for affordable housing.”

Sell acquired the Glen Haven property at an auction and took possession in 2019. The project required extensive renovation of the nursing home facility built in the early 1960s. Glenwood residents familiar with the two-story structure when it was a nursing home, won’t recognize the building now. Some of the apartments are two levels and some are single level.

“It’s helluva change,” Sell of said of the renovation.

Most of the construction is expected to be completed by the end of June with the first occupants moving in next month.

During his visit to Glenwood, Gregg also got an update on Glenwood Downtown Revitalization program for façade work on eight buildings, also made possible with CDBG funds. $1 million project requires a 25 percent match from the city and a 25 percent contribution from the building owner.