Polk County Housing Trust Fund
Issue: April, 2014
Special Edition: Affordable Housing Week
Because this year's lineup of events for Affordable Housing Week (taking place April 21-26) is so big, we decided to make it the focus of this month's eNewsletter!  Your favorite articles will return next month, but for now, we hope that you will read more about our upcoming events.  We are excited about bringing back our best events from last year and hosting new events that will help the community learn about affordable housing.  We hope to see you at one, or two, or all of our events this month!

For an overview of the week, click here to see our calendar!
PCHTF Presents...
CRE Trends & Issues Forum
The Tomorrow Plan sponsors this year's event
The Business Record will hold its annual Commercial Real Estate Trends and Issues Forum at the West Des Moines Sheraton on Thursday, April 24 from 7 to 9.  The Des Moines Area MPO and PCHTF have teamed up to sponsor the event under the banner of The Tomorrow Plan.  The event is a way to kick off the planning process for Housing Tomorrow, the region's plan for affordable housing, and to learn about upcoming trends in our area from a panel of leading developers.  Click below to learn more and register!

Educational Session
State and local experts will discuss affordable housing
Immediately following the CRE Trends & Issues Forum, PCHTF will host a free educational session that will explore the connection between affordable housing and economic development.  Debi Durham from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (pictured) and Dr. Jane Rongerude, Assistant Professor in Community and Regional Planning at Iowa State, will share their insights about affordable housing.  We hope you'll join us from just after 9 to noon on Thursday, April 24 at the Dallas Room in the West Des Moines Sheraton.  The session is free and open to the public.  Click below to register!

Community Bus Tour
PCHTF and MPO will explore eastern Polk County
Our ninth community bus tour will take place Friday, April 25 from 9 to 11:30! Ride the bus with PCHTF and staff from the Des Moines Area MPO to see affordable housing options on the east side of Des Moines and Altoona, and to learn more about our upcoming work on Housing Tomorrow, our region's plan for affordable housing. Space is limited, so click below to register!

Design Challenge
ASK Studio gears up for second year with school visits
Local architects ASK Studio are already preparing for our second year of Design Challenge by visiting schools around the metro. They will visit about 40 students from five local high schools, who are already hard at work preparing their best affordable housing designs for judging by a panel of architects and real estate experts. The student with the best design gets a $2,000 scholarship from the Homebuilders Association of Greater Des Moines. Join us on Saturday, April 26 at 10 at the Pappajohn Center to see the designs and find out who wins! Click below to get a sneak peek by checking out the Des Moines Register's photos from ASK Studio's visit to Des Moines Central Academy!

Educational Session for Landlords
A new opportunity to learn about low-income renters
For the first time, PCHTF is reaching out to our community's landlords by hosting an educational session over breakfast on Tuesday, April 22 at 8 at the Ramada Tropics Resort & Conference Center, 5000 Merle Hay Road. Speakers from PCHTF, Primary Health Care, the Des Moines Municipal Housing Authority, and the Iowa Finance Authority will offer insights into how affordable rental housing works and how best to serve low-income renters. Landlords will have the opportunity to learn how they can help us fill our region's need for affordable housing.  Space is limited, so click below to register.

100,000 Homes Begins
Program featured on "60 Minutes" comes to DSM
To end homelessness, just give homeless people a place to live.  It sounds too good to be true, but the national 100,000 Homes Campaign is doing just that.  And it's working: local teams in over 230 cities have housed more than 90,000 people.  Its success in tackling this difficult task led Anderson Cooper to profile the campaign this month on CBS' "60 Minutes."  Now, a local team will work to bring the 100,000 Homes Campaign to Des Moines.

Other Community Events
We Are Tomorrow
Celebrate the launch of The Tomorrow Plan
Join us for an open house to launch The Tomorrow Plan and to celebrate Earth Day!  There will be numerous activities for you to participate in as well as a few surprises.  Tuesday, April 22 from 4-6 at the Des Moines Social Club, 900 Mulberry St.  Click below to read more, via The Tomorrow Plan on Facebook.

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Contact Us 108 3rd Street Ste. 350 Des Moines, IA 50309 Phone: (515) 282-3233 Fax: (515) 282-8444

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