A patch of land on Seventh Street that Urban Dreams has owned since 1999 is finally getting the affordable homes the organization always planned for it. Construction began this week on a six-unit development at 1411 Seventh St. in Des Moines’ River Bend neighborhood, a $1.9 million project aimed at working individuals and families priced out of the local housing market.
The project is a partnership between Urban Dreams and Hubbell Construction Services, which will oversee construction, according to Business Record. The site has sat reserved for affordable housing for nearly three decades, and as KCCI reports, Urban Dreams had been waiting to start the project for years before finally breaking ground. A groundbreaking ceremony was scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at the site.
Six Units, Four Two-Bedroom Homes and Two Three-Bedroom Homes
The development will include four two-bedroom homes and two three-bedroom homes, per the outlet's report on county funding. Site work calls for new utilities, 10 parking spaces, sidewalks and other improvements to the property, rounding out what is described as a full neighborhood upgrade rather than just new housing stock.
Izaah Knox, president and CEO of Urban Dreams, said infill property like this fits underused areas and brings families and community together, according to KCCI. The units are designated for working individuals and families earning at or below 50% of the area's median income. The two Business Record reports give differing four-person income figures for that threshold — one citing $58,200 annually and another citing $47,050 — and the discrepancy has not been resolved in available reporting.
County Dollars Fill a Funding Gap
Money for the project has come together in pieces. Polk County approved a $1 million loan to Urban Dreams in July 2025 to build what was then described as a four-plex row home of six units on Seventh Street, the same outlet reported. More recently, the county approved an additional $200,000 funding agreement for the project.
County Administrator Frank Marasco said the project ran into trouble when construction bids came back higher than expected. “Their bids came back significantly higher so they had a gap,” he said, per the report. The added $200,000 is coming from Emergency Rental Assistance 2, a program funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.
A Shortage Years in the Making
The River Bend project lands amid a well-documented affordable housing crunch across central Iowa. As of 2022, the Des Moines metro had just 23 affordable and available housing units for every 100 extremely low-income households, according to Axios Des Moines — well below Iowa's statewide average of 42 units and the national average of 34. For FY 2025, a family of four earning less than $34,350 in the Des Moines metro was considered extremely low-income, the outlet reported, and in 2023, 34% of Iowa's extremely low-income households included workers.
Des Moines' own 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan describes affordable housing development and preservation, per the City of Des Moines Consolidated Plan.
Statewide, the picture is similarly strained. Iowa had only 39 rental homes affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income households in 2026, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which estimates the state needs 61,867 more homes affordable to that income bracket. A full-time Iowa worker would need to earn $21.39 an hour to afford the state's average two-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,112, the coalition reports.
Other Projects Taking Shape Around Des Moines
The River Bend development isn't the only affordable housing push moving forward locally. Alley Landing, built at the former Plaza Lanes site, opened on October 28, 2025, with income-restricted apartments and space prioritized for veterans, Axios Des Moines reported.
