Rock Island-based Economic Growth Corporation (Growth) will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Wilson Lofts in Clinton, Iowa on Monday, March 20, 2023, at 12 p.m.
Wilson Lofts is at 217 5th Avenue South, downtown Clinton. After the ribbon cutting, a community open house is planned from 1-4 p.m., where the public is invited to tour the development.
“Through the commitment of our board of directors and many partners, I am proud to announce the ribbon cutting and grand opening date for the Wilson Lofts,” Brian Hollenback, Growth’s president/CEO, said in a Friday release.
“Through a global pandemic, supply chain shortages, and so many other challenges, the road to completion has had many bumps. But those challenges have only served to push our team even harder to get us to the finish line,” he said. “We believe the Wilson Lofts is something the entire community can be proud of.
“For over nine years, I, along with the entire Growth team, have put our entire hearts into the Wilson Lofts,” Hollenback said of the $15.6-million project. “I cannot thank everyone enough for their commitment, and to our board, past and present, who over the course of many years made brave, bold decisions to see this catalytic project through. This is a celebration for everyone.”
Growth team members involved include Cindy Berg, CFO; Andrew Fisher, construction director; Carey Jorgensen, director of property management for Growth and Home Base Property Management, LLC; and Beth Payne, senior vice president.
The development team for Wilson Lofts includes:
- Economic Growth Corporation, developer
- Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, legal
- RDG Planning & Design, architect
- Bush Construction, general contractor
- Home Base Property Management, property manager
A total transformation
The former offices in the six-story, 1914 Wilson Building’s upper stories are completely transformed into 33 new residential apartments ranging from two-story, townhome type apartments, lofts from 975 to 1,275 square feet, and 1- and 2-bedroom rental units from 483 to 1,224 square feet.
Twenty-six units are designated at market rate, and seven are designated as workforce housing for those earning 80% of the area median income. Rents range from $800 to $1,375 a month.
The ground floor commercial space was developed into two different uses. The front half facing 5th Avenue South was redeveloped into two business incubators: Clinton Culinary, a kitchen incubator providing incubator spaces for start-up culinary businesses and Makers on 5th, a retail/business incubator designed to help start-up retailers and entrepreneurs.
The rear half facing 6th Avenue South was redeveloped into 7 townhome-type apartments with their own individual entrances.
The development attracted over 12 layers of complex financing, Growth said, including Federal New Market Tax Credits, State Historic Tax Credits, Federal Historic Tax Credits, Tax Increment Financing from the city of Clinton, Brownfield/Grayfield Tax Credits, Downtown Revitalization Grant by the Iowa Economic Development Authority through the city of Clinton, and private debt by IHMVCU, BankORION, and American Bank & Trust.
Additional support includes Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District 2 funds from the Downtown Clinton Alliance and grant support by the Clinton County Development Association made possible through the Gateway Area Foundation/Grow Clinton.
A long wait list
Wilson Lofts has a wait list exceeding 100 potential residents interested in being the first to call it home, the Friday release said. Home Base Property Management, Wilson Lofts’ property management company, is currently accepting applicants for its wait list for an April 2023 move in.
To start the process, people can complete a pre-application by visiting www.Wilson-Lofts.com or www.HomeBasePM.com and click “apply now.” Applications can be mailed upon request by calling 563-212-5744.
A property management office is also on site and will open once a property manager is hired. The hiring process is underway for a property manager that will be hired on a temporary full-time basis to show units and help with the initial lease up. Once the property is leased up, the position will become part-time.
