The Adams County GROW Program is now accepting applications!
How did we get here?
In 2023, the Great River Economic Development Foundation conducted a “Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment for Adams County”. This study outlined the desperate need for single-family houses and affordable housing options.
In response to this study, the Adams County Board allocated $1 million of the ARPA funds to develop the GROW, or Growing Residential Opportunities County-Wide Program, to address this need. The program focuses on developers either taking abandoned houses or empty lots and turning them into affordable housing.
With the news that the Adams County Board approved the timeline, and specific details regarding the Adams County GROW Program, you might be asking yourself, what is next? We will dive into program details below.
Program Details
To be eligible for the GROW Program, a project/development must be located within Adams County. The project may include the construction of a new residential unit(s) on a vacant lot, including a single-family residence, duplex, condos, townhouses, cluster homes, and/or apartment complex. In addition, development of a currently uninhabitable structure or partially uninhabited structure will be accepted. The developer must obtain the required permits and complete the approved scope of work within 12 months of the approval of an application to the GROW Program. Longer timelines may be considered based on application. Projects completed after December 31, 2026, will not be eligible.
The program will offer a $20,000 non-repayment loan per unit to developers. The GROW Program incentive cannot exceed 50% of the cost of the project or $100,000, whichever is less. The forgivable loan period will be five years before the date of project completion with an approved certificate of occupancy.
The GROW Program Review Committee will include 7 (seven) representatives of the Great River Economic Development Foundation or other community members. The committee will review applications to assure proposals meet the goals/objectives of the GROW Program and to verify the application has sufficient financial resources to complete the project. More specifically, the scoring criteria used to evaluate the proposals will include project scope, private investment vs county investment, number of units, location of project, project timeline, and addressing housing need projections outlined in the “Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment for Adams County”. The committee will submit recommendations to the Adams County Board for final approval and funding authorization.
Upon approval of the project, the owner must obtain all required permits. Mandatory inspections must be allowed during the construction process, as required by code in the jurisdiction of the project. The property owner will also be required to submit an annual inspection of the property on or around the annual anniversary of project completion for a period of five years. The inspection of the property must show compliance with all applicable codes and ordinances within that property’s jurisdiction
Timeline
For a deeper dive into the details of the program, and information needed to apply for the program, please visit the GREDF website.
There will be two training sessions:
- The first training will be on April 23rd in the Oakley-Lindsay Center at 4 p.m.
- The second training will be held on May 1st at 12 p.m. on Zoom. If you are interested in obtaining the Zoom link, please email Madison Badgley.
Applications are due to GREDF by 4 p.m. on June 18th. Applications can be sent via email to gredf@gredf.org; dropped off to the GREDF office, or sent via mail.