14 West 21st Street,
Suite 3
P.O. Box 473
Spencer, Iowa 51301

Counties Served: Benton, Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo, Clay, Clinton, Dickinson, Jasper, Mahaska, Marion, Mills, Tama, Wapello
 

Incorporated: 1993

Community Housing Initiatives, Inc. was created in 1993 by a Northwest Iowa Community Action Agency, Upper Des Moines Opportunity. Iowa needed non-profit affordable housing organization because many low income Iowa families do not have decent, safe and energy efficient affordable housing. CHI helps families transitioning from public assistance programs. Until its formation, no single non-profit organization had been designed to focus specifically on increasing housing throughout Iowa. Because of its early success and CHI’s on-going commitment to re-investment into housing, CHI has become a major player in the expansion of affordable housing in Iowa. CHI has been designated Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) for the entire State of Iowa.

In the past decade, CHI has become one of the most successful developers and managers of affordable rental housing in Iowa. It has constructed or rehabilitated 800 affordable housing units and has 84 additional units under construction. As the result of a strong commitment to creating partnerships with communities and supportive service providers, CHI development teams have created a wide array of housing solutions, each uniquely tailored to the needs of individual communities.