Council authorizes LOI with Volker Development for affordable housing at 10841 Douglas
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Urbandale approved a letter of intent with Volker Development for a 47–50-unit affordable housing project at 10841 Douglas Ave.; the developer agreed to buy the city property for $750,000, invest about $17.5 million, and preserve affordability for 50 years. Council also authorized rezoning steps and limited TIF support for tenant services.
Urbandale’s City Council voted to authorize a letter of intent (LOI) with Volker Development to advance an affordable housing redevelopment at 10841 Douglas Avenue.
Assistant City Manager Curtis Brown told the council the city’s RFP required units at or below 60% of area median income, a focus on two- and three-bedroom units, and at least 20 years of affordability. Brown said staff selected Volker after an internal review of seven proposals and that the LOI sets the mutual expectations ahead of a purchase and development agreement.
Curtis Brown summarized key LOI terms: Volker plans to apply to the Iowa Finance Authority for tax credits; the project would construct approximately 47–50 units (the final count depends on site constraints); Volker agreed to acquire the city parcel for $750,000 and to invest roughly $17.5 million in the development. Brown said the developer committed to 50 years of rent restrictions on the site and that the city would consider tax-increment financing (TIF) assistance of up to $200,000 to support tenant service coordination.
Travis Fouchal, Volker’s project manager, described the company’s experience with LIHTC projects and said the team is “very early on” and will order surveys, market studies and geotechnical work during predevelopment. He said Volker will refine unit mix and amenities as the underwriting and site work progress and that the firm intends to submit financing applications on the IFA schedule.
Council members asked about unit counts, the planned share of three-bedroom units (Brown said the LOI seeks at least a quarter of units to be three-bedrooms and 85% two- and three-bedroom combined), the source of financing, and property management qualifications. Brown and Volker representatives said the project’s financing will rely on LIHTC scoring and soft funding where available and that the developer will select a certified affordable housing manager acceptable to financing partners and the city.
Council approved the LOI and a companion resolution to begin the rezoning process for the planned planned-unit development, with motions recorded and carried in the meeting.