(Glenwood, Iowa) – Representatives from Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO), the City of Glenwood, and Developer Ryan Sell had a chance to show off the 712 Lofts development to Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg on Tuesday, June 11th. SWIPCO officials say the Lt. Governor was making his way through the region and provided an opportunity to check out this project and discuss other projects in Glenwood. Sell and his family hosted a tour of their conversion project of the former Glen Haven Nursing Home into 3-bedroom and 1-bedroom apartments. The project has been partially funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Housing funds administered by SWIPCO following the 2019 Missouri River Floods.

Sell talked about the challenges of converting the building into the space they envisioned and hopes it brings a great option for the community. “We wanted to put something here that wasn’t really available anywhere else in town. This gives residents a unique space option with some three-bedroom, two-bath units,” Sell said. There will be 27 units total available once the project is done including a small house on the site that is being renovated as well. Sell said it’s been a learning process and has been challenging and frustrating at times with changes made along the way but it’s all working out. “We were all learning through the process but ultimately SWIPCO and Iowa Economic Development have been great partners. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the help,” Sell said.

Photo (L-R): SWIPCO Communications Coordinator Chris Parks, Brock Sell, DeShawne Bird-Sell, Developer Ryan Sell, SWIPCO Disaster Recovery Coordinator Ashley Hayes, Lt. Governor Adam Gregg, Glenwood Mayor Angie Winquist, Glenwood City Administrator Amber Farnan, Mills County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jennie Davis, SWIPCO Community Development Specialist Tammy DeBord. (Photo courtesy Chris Parks at SWIPCO/SWITA)

Lieutenant Governor Gregg said he loves seeing projects like this one happen, “Ultimately you hope that this has a chance to bring a new generation to town. This can attract families to your community.” Glenwood City Administrator Amber Farnan also discussed the downtown façade work that is about to get underway because of a CDBG Downtown Revitalization grant that SWIPCO is working with the city on. 8 buildings around the Glenwood town square will get a facelift starting this summer. That project has approximately $960,000 in funding, $490,000 in CDBG funds and $470,000 in city and building owner funds.

Farnan also touched on a fiber project the city is in the midst of with Western Iowa Networks. They entered a partnership to bring fiber internet service to the entire city. The city is using American Rescue Plan Act funds to support the project. Lt. Governor Gregg asked about what obstacles arise in these projects and several on hand expressed concern with some of the changing requirements of grant funds and some of the paperwork obligations being a big challenge to fill. Gregg expressed his sympathy to those issues and said sometimes it’s above the state’s control when it comes to federal funding, but he noted the hangups. Also discussed was the vital need for good infrastructure for communities to continue to grow and attract business, such as a proper water system.

Glenwood officials were very thankful for the funding opportunities that have presented themselves and feel like they have done a good job of spending those funds on the right projects.