The city of Rock Valley, Iowa fueled by its entrepreneurial spirit, had grown for years. But then, the town’s steady growth began to stall.
“We had been seeing constant growth, with anywhere from 10 to 25 houses added each year. Then, shortly before COVID, those numbers really started to dry up,” explained Tom Van Maanen, Rock Valley’s city administrator.
For Van Maanen, the shift in numbers warned of a dry spell in the community’s expansion, a view Dave Miller, Rock Valley’s development director, shared.
“For our businesses to grow, we need to continue to recruit and retain our residents. And to achieve that, we need housing,” Miller stated.
Recognizing the need for action, Miller and Van Maanen collaborated with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach for education and the Iowa Economic Development Authority for funding. As a result, Rock Valley has experienced an estimated $8.35 million investment in new housing construction.
In 2021, Rock Valley completed the Rural Housing Readiness Assessment facilitated by ISU Extension and Outreach’s Community and Economic Development unit, learning how to self-assess and address their unique housing needs through their own community-driven initiatives. Completing the assessment enabled them to leverage a $10,000 Empower Rural Iowa grant from IEDA.
Equipped with the Rural Housing Readiness Assessment plan and the Empower Rural Iowa grant, Rock Valley initiated projects to develop housing incentives, revitalize urban areas, and combat blight. The concerted community effort has already resulted in the completion of five downtown housing units, with six more units in progress. Additionally, this initiative has sparked the construction of 20 new single-family homes and seven multi-family housing units.
Since 2020, 57 Iowa communities have taken action to address their rural housing crisis by completing Iowa State University Extension’s Rural Housing Readiness Assessment program.
More information: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/communities/rural-housing-readiness-assessment