DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A housing shortage for low-income workers in Des Moines is being exacerbated by soaring rent costs, a local organization has found.
Rents in the city have increased by more than 15 percent in past five years, the Des Moines Register reported Saturday.
On top of that, Polk and eastern Dallas counties are almost 8,000 units shy of meeting demand for single people making less than $15,000 annually, the Polk County Housing Trust Fund said. Some officials that’s becoming too heavy a burden for people making $13 an hour or less.
“Our demand for affordable units is through the roof,” said Eric Burmeister, who heads the trust.
Brett James, 38, nets little more than $1,200 a month as a line cook at a downtown restaurant.
He rides a bus for two hours roundtrip most days to get to and from work, but says he can’t afford to live downtown, where the rent for a one-bedroom apartment runs about $1,100.
Forty-four percent of residents in Polk and eastern Dallas counties are “rent-burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, while 63 percent of the lowest-income renters in the area live in Des Moines, according to the trust.
Only one low-income housing tax-credit development project was approved this year in Polk County by the Iowa Finance Authority. The Libertad will provide 40 units for families and individuals who have struggled to find permanent housing.
Last year, all 1,966 new rental units constructed in Des Moines were market rate, according to data collected in January by Hubbell Realty Co.
Des Moines City Council members haven’t been actively pushing for more low-income units, in part because those projects have to be heavily subsidized to entice developers.
Council members Joe Gatto and Bill Gray believe more low-income units need to be built in the western suburbs, where most of the lower-wage, service-industry jobs are located, they said.
“I feel like we already have our share of affordable housing,” Gatto said of the south and east sides.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, https://www.desmoinesregister.com
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