Gayla Thompson is quite fond of her new home — and her new neighborhood.
The streets are quiet, she said, and a nearby playground being erected this week will be within easy walking distance, an ideal recreation spot when her granddaughter visits.
“And my back walkway almost meets the Prairie Spirit Trail,” she gushed. “This is nice.”
Thompson moved into her new home last week, one of 30 houses that comprise the River Valley Homes complex on what was the western half of Cedarbrook Golf Course in north Iola.
Construction is nearing completion on the final 12 homes, said Travis Coley, district manager for Mid America Management, Inc., which oversees the complex.
Six of the homes should be certified for occupancy within the next week, Coley said, and are likely be filled shortly thereafter.
Coley said all 30 homes should be occupied within the next two months.
Mid America Management is a subsidiary of Carlson Gardner, the Springfield, Mo.-based housing developer that built the rental housing project.
“I think we’re all getting excited that the end is getting close,” said Tammy Creason, project coordinator for development and acquisitions at Carlson Gardner.
Coley and Creason dispelled rumors that the complex was having trouble finding renters because of restrictive income guidelines.
While the eligibility requirements are iron-clad — a family of three, for example, cannot have an annual income exceeding $28,260 — there have been enough applicants to fill the homes, they said. The income limit for a single applicant is $21,960.
The qualification criteria is mandated by the state and must be followed for Carlson Gardner to qualify for state tax credits.
Iola Commissioner Bill Shirley said he was pleased with the River Valley Homes project.
He, too, had heard rumors that many workers were unable to live in the complex because they earned too much money.
“I was very upset,” Shirley said. “I was under the impression that anybody who earned any kind of salary was ineligible. But after I learned what the actual guidelines were, I’m pleased with how it’s turned out.”
He noted that most of the occupants in the complex have single-income families, many of whom work in Iola’s industries.
“I would like to see more people be able to get into homes like those,” he said.
THOMPSON, who worksat Allen County Hospital, said the rent she pays now, $410 a month, was only slightly higher than what she had been paying in a substantially older — and smaller — rental home in south Iola.
Her new home, like the 29 others, features three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an attached two-car garage.
And the higher rent is mitigated by what is certain to be lower utility costs in the energy-efficient houses, Thompson said.
“My only concern was what happened if I got a raise, because I knew I was close,” Thompson said. “Would I be over the limit?”
Creason explained that applications are re-examined after 12 months to determine continued occupancy.
“We try to estimate what their salary will be after a year,” Creason said, adding that the income threshold also rises to account for cost of living increases. “Some years those limits increase more than others.
“Through normal attrition — perhaps they get a better job, or get married, or get a significant pay increase — some of the renters will look to find other housing,” Creason said. “That’s normal. We’re here for the working class occupants. If they put themselves into a better financial situation, that’s what we want, too.”
Other qualification criteria include the occupant’s rental and credit history, their current job stability and a criminal background check.
JAMES DODGE, who moved into the complex in March, said he appreciated his home’s layout on a single level.
Dodge, who formerly worked at Precision Pump in Humboldt and then Iola, has been disabled and unable to work since undergoing brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in 2006.
He lives in his house with a personal care attendant.
“It’s a nice, quaint neighborhood,” he said. “I have friendly neighbors.”
Cyndi Long, who lives nearby, agreed.
“It’s a really nice house, and it’s affordable for my two kids and me,” she said. “I’d heard talk around town about these houses, and that’s when I applied. It was a lot of paperwork.”
Dodge found only one complaint. While the housing complex is almost built, the city has delayed installing any streetlights in the neighborhood.
“Right now, when it gets dark, it really gets dark,” Dodge said.
Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock said some streetlights would be erected when the complex is finished.
Schinstock said 29 additional lots remain for private development at the site, ranging in size from 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 of an acre in size. The lots are interspersed throughout the development.
