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Polk County staff outline proposals to spend remaining ERA2 funds on housing development and preservation
Summary
Staff recommended using roughly $15 million of remaining ERA2 development funds plus interest earnings for a package of projects — infill single‑family homes, a 160‑unit supportive housing hotel conversion, demolition assistance in Urbandale, and targeted purchases of small multifamily buildings — and asked for board guidance on allocations and RFPs.
County housing staff presented a multi‑part recommendation for how to use the county’s remaining Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) development dollars and related interest earnings, and asked supervisors to weigh several allocations that would move the funds toward new and preserved affordable housing.
Staff said the original Treasury distribution was $62,000,000, with 75% spent on direct rental assistance; they reported approximately $15,000,000 remains for affordable housing development and noted roughly $2.7 million in interest earnings. Staff said they elected to align reporting with HUD HOME rules and that Treasury requires funds to be obligated by Sept. 30, 2025, with liquidation 120 days after that deadline.
The staff recommendations presented included: a $50,000 award to help form a community land trust (expected to be administered by Home Inc.), $3,000,000 in ERA2 funds toward the purchase of a downtown Holiday Inn to be converted into about 160 studio apartments with on‑site wraparound services, and $500,000 of interest earnings to assist Urbandale with demolition of an Econo Lodge for a future affordable redevelopment.
Staff also proposed issuing an RFP to build seven single‑family infill homes on tax‑sale lots, with an estimated first‑phase cost around $250,000 per home, and discussed two small multifamily acquisition candidates (2419 Cottage Grove, list price $675,000; 1801 Pleasant Street, list price roughly $725,000) that staff say could be managed by county general services and donated to the land trust once it is operational.
“Once we’re done with this architect sign off, then we’ve got an RFP that’s already been developed,” staff said, describing the procurement steps for the infill program. They told supervisors that the county attorney and procurement teams have prepared templates and that staff plan to return with recommended resolutions to authorize RFP issuance and related agreements.
Supervisors and staff discussed tradeoffs: whether to prioritize faster development or deeper affordability, how to spend flexible interest earnings vs. ERA2 principal, and the practical constraints of the Treasury/HUD reporting and project delivery deadlines. Several board members encouraged closer regional coordination and a single table to align city and county priorities.
What’s next: staff will provide additional budget and RFP documents, finalize the architect sign‑off for the infill lots and return with specific procurement and financing details for board action ahead of any ERA2 obligations.
