The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors has committed nearly $9 million in federal housing tax credits alongside roughly $66 million in tax-exempt bond financing to back the creation of 595 affordable rental homes across four communities in the state.
Our real-time reporting confirms that the funding aims to expand housing access for income-qualified households through the federal 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
State officials received a total of six applications requesting more than $14 million in annual tax credits and nearly $104 million in tax-exempt bonds before finalizing the awards for these four specific municipal developments.
Approved Housing Developments Across Four Iowa Communities
The approved initiatives span both new construction projects and structural conversions, tailored to meet regional housing demands in Council Bluffs, Dubuque, Waterloo, and West Des Moines.
In Council Bluffs, developers are moving forward with 240 new apartments at Crescent Heights Apartment Homes. Meanwhile, West Des Moines will see 156 new apartments constructed at Central at 8th. Both of these sites rely on new construction methods to bring additional inventory online.
Conversely, the projects in Dubuque and Waterloo focus on adaptive reuse by converting existing buildings into residential units. Dubuque’s development brings 112 apartments to The Wilmac, and Waterloo’s Rath Fifteen 15 project introduces 87 apartments.
Tax Credits and Bonds Fund 595 New Housing Units
The financing structure combines the 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program with tax-exempt bonds to lower development costs, which in turn helps maintain accessible rent structures for qualifying tenants. The authority’s board reviewed six competing proposals before selecting these four developments.
While the total requests submitted to the board exceeded $14 million in annual tax credits and approached $104 million in bond financing, the finalized awards successfully directed the available $9 million in tax credits and $66 million in bonds to the 595 units now advancing through the pipeline.
