DECORAH — A new partnership between Decorah Jobs and Winneshiek County Development and Tourism (WCDT) is moving forward with plans for a unique housing development aimed at addressing Decorah’s workforce housing shortage.
With support from Decorah Jobs and the City of Decorah, WCDT has secured state funding for the initial planning and design of a cluster housing project on a 3.5-acre, residentially zoned site purchased by Decorah Jobs earlier this year.
The project was among six statewide to receive a $50,000 Empower Rural Iowa “Housing 2.0” grant, announced Monday by Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). In total, the state awarded $490,000 to 16 communities to strengthen rural housing, child care and business development.
The Decorah initiative will explore plans for 18 to 24 energy-efficient homes built around shared green spaces and parking areas—a compact, community-oriented layout designed to serve mid-income households.
According to the organizations, recent housing studies and local employer feedback have illustrated growing need for affordable, cost-controlled housing options in the region. Local leaders say the project aims to meet that need while supporting business recruitment and retention.
“This is an exciting opportunity,” said WCDT Executive Director Stephanie Fromm. “We’ve been researching possibilities on this residential site for many years, and receiving this grant will allow us to move into phase one of advancing this project further. This project will create a replicable plan for dense-style housing, and we’re excited to share it with other rural communities to address the affordable housing crisis throughout the region.”
The first phase of the project, funded in part by the Iowa EDA grant, will include site design, engineering and planning to determine costs and visualize the layout before moving into development.
Officials said the effort aligns closely with WCDT’s mission to address barriers to economic development, with special focus paid to local solutions.
For more information about Empower Rural Iowa grants and a full list of recipients, visit the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Center for Rural Revitalization webpage.