On one corner stands the historic Bruce Funeral Home. On another corner is Chronicle, a 22-foot-tall torch sculpture created in honor of the city’s sesquicentennial. And on the entire southern half of the block is cracked concrete.

In the near future, however, that parking lot will become home to 32 new families.

The city of Fort Dodge entered into a development agreement with DEV Partners, of Des Moines, to develop the mostly unused city parking lot into new, modern housing to help attract more residents to the city.

“About a year and a half ago, I said we should get invested in the cities doing the amazing amount of infrastructure that’s going on,” said Danny Heggen, director of development and investments for DEV Partners.

-Submitted image
This image shows a rendering of the Second Avenue Rowhomes that will be built in the 900 block of Second Avenue South.

The city of Fort Dodge, he said, had already been contracted with DEV’s sister company, Shift Collective, to develop the master plan for the Lincoln neighborhood just north of Fort Dodge.

The rowhomes will bring a “high design” to the area while creating 32 new housing units, Heggen said. From the outside, the development will look just like 10 new rowhomes, but beyond the facade, the construction will allow for flexibility on the use of space, Heggen said. The units will be a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.

“Each of them will have their own walk-up entry to sort of feel like you’re walking into your own house,” Heggen said.

Rent for the rowhome units will be in the $900-$1,200 range, he said. DEV Partners will also handle the management of the property once constructed.

There is a high demand for new housing in the Fort Dodge area, Heggen said, and the flexibility of the project’s design allows for a higher density of multifamily homes in the development.

“We look at areas of urban infill, we can start to focus on walkability and connectivity,” he said. “The Oak Hill neighborhood is so beautiful. … By doing some infill in this parking lot, it’s such a great example of being able to bring people living in the core of the city, that work in and around the community and that can also start to experience all the great things happening in downtown Fort Dodge.”

The city previously worked with Foutch Brothers LLC, of Kansas City, to develop the property. In 2018, a plan for new townhomes on the site was announced, but it never got off the ground.

DEV Partners is working on similar rowhome developments in Des Moines, Indianola and Pella.

DEV Partners has other properties that it manages in Fort Dodge. Under the name Hom Investments 2 LLC, the company purchased the buildings at 700 Central Ave. and 1109 Central Ave. in 2021. Heggen said they are working on a “refresh” on the residential units on the upper floors of both buildings, as well as exterior improvements next year at 700 Central Ave.

Construction on the Second Avenue Rowhomes is anticipated to start next spring and the units ready for move-in by the start of 2024.

“I think that this is going to be a great model for what can be done in other areas of the state that are in need of housing as well,” Heggen said. “We really want this to be sort of a kickstart to what housing could look like.”

The entire development is expected to cost about $4.89 million, Heggen said.

Last month, the 2nd Avenue Rowhomes was one of 57 housing projects in 30 Iowa counties to receive the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Workforce Housing Tax Credit. The 2nd Avenue project will receive $930,995 in tax credits on this project.

The Workforce Housing Tax Credit program provides tax benefits to developers to build new housing in Iowa communities, focusing especially on those projects using abandoned, empty or dilapidated properties.

Other area projects receiving the Workforce Housing Tax Incentive include Rockport Phase 4 in Emmetsburg and Wright Time Housing in Clarion.