Des Moines, Iowa--11:07 AM, Aug 24, 2011 by Jason Pulliam — 

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/08/24/anawim-homes-give-boost-to-forest-avenue/

Two lots that were once blight on the northeast side of Des Moines' Drake neighborhood are now symbols of hope for the area's continued renewal.

Anawim Housing, which provides permanent rental homes for low-income families, today marked the opening of eight new townhomes at 2201 Forest Ave.  Eight more units just to the east are expected to open in November.

Supporters of the $2.6 million project say it serves two key priorities: boosting the number of affordable housing units in Des Moines and sprucing up Forest Avenue.

"This is the kind of thing that can revitalize a neighborhood and completely change a corridor," Ward 1 City Councilman Halley Griess said at Wednesday's ribbon cutting ceremony.

Russ Frazier, president of Anawim Housing, said the project also helps address the need of housing stock upgrades outlined in a recent improvement plan for the Drake neighborhood.

"This project is one of many we're going to see come out of this plan, " Frazier said.

One of the lots where the new townhomes now stand had been vacant.  The other had a rundown, vacant gas station that for years had been a source of frustration for residents in the area.

Several buried storage tanks that were discovered unexpectedly at the gas station site hampered construction and raised questions about the project, Frazier said.  "At one point, I wasn't sure we were going to get to this day, " he said."...With gas stations, you never know what you are going to find."

Getting to Wednesday had special meaning for Anawim officials and their supporters.  In December, they were set to break ground on the project when Sister Stella Neill, Anawim's founder, died in a car accident.

Completing the project is reminder of Neill's legacy and the work Anawim continues to do in Des Moines, Frazier said.

This fall, ground will be broken on eight more units just down the block along Forest Avenue.

This year's projects round out others Anawim has worked on with Hubbell Realty Co., whose crews built nine homes in nine days near 21st Street and Forest Avenue.  Hubbell also served as general contractor for the $1.5 million Sister Stella Neill Building on Forest.

In 2002, former City Councilman Tom Vlassis led a study of the Forest Avenue corridor from Second Avenue to Beaver Avenue.  The goal was to pinpoint ways to eliminate vacant lots, improve housing conditions, boost property values and strengthen the business climate.

Anawim's projects along Forest Avenue are important steps toward meeting goals laid out nearly a decade ago, and new ones set in the recent Drake neighborhood plan, supporters say.