Apartment Complex Subject Of Rumors
‘The Reserves at Ironwood’ – Construction continues on the west side of Oskaloosa. (photo by Candace Allsup/Oskaloosa News)
Oskaloosa, Iowa — The initial steps to bring a 48 unit apartment complex to Oskaloosa hit the Planning and Zoning Committee last September, with the initial conversations beginning back as far as 2013.
The project is being spearheaded by Overland Property, with a cost of 8.5 million dollars. Construction began this spring, and the hope is to have the apartments ready for occupancy by the end of 2015.
Area residents have expressed some concern that the new apartment complex named ‘The Reserves at Ironwood’ will be Section 8 housing, and that the City of Oskaloosa is working with the Federal Government on a program to bring individuals to Oskaloosa from places like Chicago.
Oskaloosa News sat down with Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt to discuss the project, and find out if the local government is working with the Federal Government on any projects to bring individuals to Oskaloosa.
Krutzfeldt said that the project is not a Section 8 subsidized housing project, “and neither I nor anyone representing the City has struck a deal with the mayor of Chicago to bring in train loads of residents.”
Mayor Krutzfeldt explained that the new apartment complex is actually Section 42 housing.
“Section 42 refers to that section of the tax code that provides tax credits to investors who build affordable housing. Investors receive a reduction in their tax liability in return for providing affordable housing to people with fixed or lower incomes.”
“The residents who live in Section 42 housing must be income and program eligible, similar to residents who live in rental assistance apartments. One difference is that the rent a Section 42 resident will pay is capped at a fixed amount and includes utilities that either are paid by the property or are the residents responsibility. In rental assistance programs such as Section 8, the rent amount paid by the resident is based on 30 percent of his/her adjusted income and the federal government funds the remaining portion. The Section 42 Program is not a government-subsidized rental program.”
Rents for the units include trash pickup and range from $235-S550 for the low-income two bedroom units, from $265-$625 for the low-income three bedroom units, and from $280-$725 for the low-income four-bedroom units. Tenants will pay electricity, water/sewer, heating, cooking, and water heating. Rents (including utility allowances) are the Fair Market Rent for the area.
Krutzfeldt explained that the housing being built is geared toward the young professional that is just getting started. Those seeking to be a tenant at the new housing unit will have to have a “history of doing the right thing” says Krutzfeldt.
Employment, credit and criminal background checks will be conducted on potential tenants to the complex. Criminal convictions can cause a potential tenant to be rejected for up to ten years.
Currently, approximately 120 Section 8 vouchers are being utilized in Oskaloosa. “There is a significant number of apartments, but it’s not huge,” says Krutzfeldt.”
The new project got its start after the Pella project was completed. Oskaloosa got on the developers radar after they viewed the Oskaloosa Housing Study, which outlined a need for housing in Oskaloosa. The Section 42 housing units are designed to be step-up from many housing options that may be available to working individuals. Without the study, the developer could have easily overlooked the area for potential development.
Without information available to developers, like the aforementioned study, developers may only find out about opportunities “through conversation and a cup of coffee,” says Krutzfeldt, “and you would have to establish credibility, with whoever that developer is, that you really know what you’re talking about.”
Oskaloosa residents have taken to social media with concerns that the City of Oskaloosa is working with a government entity to relocate individuals from inner-city projects to Oskaloosa. “There is no recruiting effort going on.”
When it comes to any other government program working to move individuals to Oskaloosa from other communities, “We’re not aware of any efforts that are taking place to do such a thing,” says Krutzfeldt.
