Hiawatha leaders hailed the Igram Village project as a “monumental development” in the city’s history at a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning, Oct. 8.
“This project represents much more than just the construction of new homes,” Hiawatha mayor Steve Dodson said at the ceremony. “It symbolizes a continued commitment to fostering a vibrant, inclusive community where every family has the opportunity to thrive.”
About two dozen community leaders were on hand for the ceremonial groundbreaking for the $14 million Igram Village, a project formally launched with the Hiawatha City Council’s approval of a development agreement in September.
Igram Village, being developed by Hassan and Salma Igram and their family, will include approximately 48 two-bedroom townhomes in the first phase, with future phases including commercial improvements and a mixed-use building with commercial space on the ground floor and residential units above.
The development is located north of Parsons Drive, generally between North Center Point Road and Robins Road, just north of the Igram family-owned Cedar Graphics. The development property is also owned by the Igrams.
Chad Pelley of Twenty40 Building Concepts, the development contractor for the project, said the concept has been nearly two decades in the making.
“Hassan and I were having conversations back when I was at Hall and Hall engineers, (but) things changed, economies changed,” Mr. Pelley said. “Fast forward, he called me up about a year ago now and said, ‘hey, the family’s ready to do something. Let’s get it done.’ And here we sit.”
The Hiawatha City Council approved tax rebates and a tax abatement as part of the development agreement for Igram Village, and the project also received nearly $900,000 in workforce housing tax credits from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which Mr. Pelley said “makes this all feasible.”
Mr. Igram said Wednesday that site plans were drafted for the project “maybe five or six years ago,” but were placed on hold due to limited funding.
“But, you know, you keep looking at empty land, you think you need to do something, and being on the HEDCO board and being involved with the city … we just thought it was time that we started to do something to make an impact, not only for our own family, but for the city.”
He said he was familiar with the design of the housing units, which will be built as 12-plex buildings, because “he had built some right by my house, and my niece actually rented one.”
“I saw how fast they got filled up, and they kept building and building,” he said. “I really love the design, and I like the idea that someday you could probably divide those up into condos if we wanted to. My initial dream was office buildings, but we know now that’s a tough, tough market. Then we talked about doing retail over here. And I hope someday that we can continue the project as kind of a modular concept, where we start to add these things. And let’s see what the city comes up with, as far as leads for other businesses, and what happens over on Robins Road. We’re anxious to see something happen on Robins Road as well, because we own that corner property as well.”
City officials have also said the development is designed to address housing needs identified in the city’s housing study and support Hiawatha’s strategic vision for a walkable village center, a topic addressed by Mr. Dodson Wednesday.
“As we break ground today, we’re also laying the foundation for a stronger, more connected Hiawatha,” he said. “With this project, we’re ensuring that every family, no matter their background, can find a place to call home, and that’s something worth celebrating.”
Groundwork for the project is already under way. Mr. Pelley said plans call for the first two 12-plex buildings to “go vertical” in the spring or summer of 2026, with completion about eight months thereafter, in the first portion of 2027. The other two buildings would then follow about a year thereafter, he said.
