TOLEDO — Region 6 Resource Partners, in coordination with the city of Toledo, is establishing a plan to construct four one-bedroom apartments on the upper level of the Masonic Temple building in Toledo. No plans have been made for a remodel of the first floor.

With Toledo’s need for more rental housing options and many downtown buildings being desolate and vacant, the choice to construct apartments in the Masonic Temple will benefit the community as a whole.

Marty Wymore of Region 6 is excited to work with the city of Toledo on this project.

“It’s great to see the local leaders embracing new opportunities to improve the community,” he said.

Region 6 Resources is a voluntary association for local governments in Hardin, Marshall, Poweshiek, and Tama counties. It provides communities with professional services like comprehensive planning, access to federal and state transportation funding, housing assistance, public transit services, grant and administration writing.

Region 6 has shared its basic financial plan with total revenue of $992,000 for the project. A CDBG Upper Story application for $600,000 in federal funding through the State of Iowa is pending with the possible award of funds in January 2023. The CDBG Funding would also include $50,000 worth of solar panels to establish green energy apartments. The Region 6 Housing Trust Fund grant will contribute $100,000 if the CDBG funding is awarded along with the State Bank of Toledo’s equity contribution of $117,000 and a loan of $175,000.

The CDBG Upper Story Grant only provides funding for five to seven communities around the state with less than 50,000 citizens. The Masonic Temple Apartment Project will not be financially feasible if the grant is not secured.

Wertzberger Architects, PC of Marshalltown, has designed the layout of the four apartment units for the Toledo Masonic Temple Project.

Scharnweber Inc. of Toledo will be the project’s general contractor. The timeline for construction of the apartments in the Masonic Temple will begin in summer 2023 with the hopes of completion by winter 2024.

Ownership of the apartment units will be Toledo Masonic Temple, LLC.

The four one-bedroom, one-bath units will be rent-locked for five years post-construction at $750. Three of the four apartments must be rented to households under 80 percent of the median income. Those household income limits are as follows: 1-person $44,250, 2-person $50,600, 3-person $56,900, and 4-person $63,200.

Wymore’s aspirations for downtown revitalization set high goals and even higher benefits for Toledo’s local small businesses.

“Upper-story housing diversifies the business owners’ income sources and increases the number of people living downtown. Hopefully, that results in more downtown business,” he said.