In a unique partnership, Glidden REC has joined forces with the Building Trades Program on the Carroll campus of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) and the Glidden Development Group, Inc. (GDG), a nonprofit economic development group of Glidden businesses.
The home is being built in the High View Addition in Glidden, a 23-lot housing development initiated by the Glidden REC. The development’s covenants require that all homes be built to energy-efficiency standards, making it Carroll County’s first energy-efficient neighborhood, according to Tim Tracy, economic development executive, Glidden REC.
According to Tim, DMACC Building Trades' students have built conventional homes in the area in the past, so taking on this home-building project is a great opportunity for students to learn 21st-century skills. The 26 students work in crews, two crews in the morning and one larger crew in the afternoon. It is a learning process for the students, Tim notes, so the house may take a bit longer to finish. “We hope to have it done next spring, sometime between March and May,” he says. He also notes that the spring completion date may well correspond with an uptick in housing sales in Iowa and nationwide.
Home features
Features of the home (and all homes to be built in the neighborhood) include geothermal heating and cooling, energy-efficient hot water heaters and appliances, and compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) throughout. Building standards are the REC Touchstone energy-efficiency guidelines.
The all-electric ranch-style house will include 1,500 square feet, with vaulted ceilings in most of the upper level. It will have a full basement and attached garage.
Tim says that the home should appeal to families with young children because of the proximity to the Glidden swimming pool and walking/biking trail and access to Glidden’s excellent school system. Also, because it is a one-story home, seniors wanting to move into a low-maintenance newer home with bedrooms on the main level may also be interested.
Building is on schedule, says Tim. The foundation was poured by the time DMACC students returned to school in August. The house is being framed now and students will be working inside through the winter.
The collaboration
The Glidden Rural Electric Visionary Development Corporation (a subsidiary of Glidden REC) developed the High View area and installed street, water, sewer, and electricity to the area two years ago. Then the economy soured, and the housing market became a harder sell, both to potential buyers and to builders.
Developing a partnership with DMACC became a mutually beneficial way to begin housing construction in the development as quickly as possible.
Financing became possible through a program called Homeward, Inc., which was established by eight rural electric cooperatives, including Glidden REC, to develop housing in rural Iowa. Homeward, Inc. makes construction loans to community organizations; that’s how the Glidden Development Group, Inc. became involved. The GDG agreed to buy the lot and construct a spec house. Additional funding was then secured through the revolving loan funds of Glidden REC and Corn Belt Power Cooperative in Humboldt.
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