News & INSIGHTS

Amid a shortage of affordable housing, Des Moines is developing a plan that city officials say will provide a roadmap for achieving a "complete" housing market for all residents.

A 2018 workforce housing study showed Polk County will need to add 57,179 new housing units at various price points by 2038 to accommodate the new workers moving here, nearly half of which will earn between $25,000 and $49,999 per year. What's more, 58,000 households in the Des Moines metro are already cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing, the study showed.

The Des Moines City Council on Monday unanimously approved hiring Maine-based czbLLC to create the city's first comprehensive housing strategy, which Development Services deputy director Michael Ludwig says will be a guide for the city to encourage a complete housing market that encompasses everything from market rate and workforce housing to housing needs for people experiencing homelessness.

The city's plan, which will take about nine months and cost nearly $200,000, will examine, draw from and work to align with the city's already-established housing goals outlined in city plans like Plan DSM, a guide to shape the capital city’s growth and development through the year 2040.

czbLLC is no stranger to Des Moines. It was first hired in 2018 to create a neighborhood revitalization plan, which became a catalyst for InvestDSM, a nonprofit that helps finance home renovations in areas that have seen neglect, which started the following year, according to a council communication memo written by Development Services director Cody Christensen. It's also behind a 2019 Regional Workforce Housing Strategy study with the Virginia Center for Housing Research and Virginia Tech University produced for the Des Moines Capital Crossroads, which showed that housing choices for low-wage workers are limited.

The firm's "substantial" history and established relationships with the city staff, housing providers and residents will expedite the process, Christensen wrote.

What will the study look at?

According to a proposed project work plan provided by the firm to the city, the project will identify the city's housing needs and challenges, and better align its goals to existing housing-related plans and ordinances within Des Moines.

The final strategy will consider factors such as affordability challenges at different income levels; plans for existing and new housing stock; and striking a balance between infill development, building in vacant lots that already have buildings, and greenfield development, building on vacant or undeveloped land, according to the proposal.

A steering committee made up of stakeholders and senior city staff will be formed to provide feedback on the project, according to the proposed project plan. The public will also be invited to share their thoughts on the plan as it's developed.