The Hiawatha City Council unanimously approved a development agreement Tuesday night, Sept. 16 with Igram Family, LLC for a multi-phase housing and commercial project valued at an estimated $14 million.
The project, dubbed Igram Village, is being developed by Hassan and Salma Igram and their family.
Igram Village will include approximately 48 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 will be located north of Parsons Drive, generally between North Center Point Road and Robins Road, just north of Cedar Graphics. The property is owned by the Igram family.
The council approved tax rebates and a tax abatement as part of the development agreement for Igram Village. The project also received nearly $900,000 in workforce housing tax credits from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
Hiawatha city manager Dennis Marks said he believed the project had been under consideration between the developer and the Igram family “for some time,” but that it officially came to the city’s attention about a year ago.
Mr. Marks said the city’s existing Robins Road Corridor study for the road, generally between Center Point Road and Boyson Road, includes plans for redevelopment of the area, which Igram Village will help to address.
“It’s not something that we (currently) have in the works,” Mr. Marks said. “It’s just the visioning plan over time.”
City officials 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.
“The approval of Igram Village is a monumental step forward for Hiawatha,” Hiawatha Mayor Steve Dodson said in a release. “This project is not just about adding housing units; it’s about strengthening our community, attracting and retaining talent and building a more dynamic and accessible downtown. It directly supports our goals for talent acquisition and meets a critical need identified in our city’s housing study.”
Chad Pelley with Twenty40 Companies is serving as the project’s developer. Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, he noted that the Igram family partners on the project were in Lebanon and Panama, respectively, so were unable to attend the meeting.
“I know they wish they could be here,” he said. “This is a really exciting and blessed thing for their family that’s been a long time coming … I don’t have to tell you what it means to this community, but it’s been on the radar forever on North Center Point Road by the trail, and I can’t wait to get going.”
Council member Ben Fiedler also spoke in support of the plan.
“Having that development right there in the corridor of Hiawatha is exciting,” he said. “It’s going to fit well with the existing community, but also help spur that next-generation development as well.”
Construction on the 48-unit townhome project, consisting mostly of two-bedroom, market-rate units, is expected to begin next year.
