infrastructure for new home development, providing water, sewer, and power for 16 lots. This investment generated immediate results, with a developer purchasing the entire block and beginning construction.“16 vacant lots, and they put one up within a year,” touts Rehder. “Now they have foundation poured for 2 others, and they’re starting to dig a foundation for a third. They told us three a year starting in 2025 and they’ve met that so far.” In addition, Iola is working to establish a land bank to encourage the redevelopment of vacant lots and support infill housing. Rehder maintains that this approach will help address both the shortage of options and the community’s aging housing stock. “There are some vacant lots that are prime for redevelopment. They’re just having issues with getting ownership,” he acknowledges. “We established the land banks where the city would take ownership of the property and open it up for developments for any realtors. The reason we did that, number one, was the square housing, and that’s been a goal of ours from the beginning.And number two, we’ve had two missed opportunities from some rehabilitation developers that specifically asked for land bank lots, and we didn’t have any.” Partnerships have also played an important role. Mayor French shares, “We have the group Iola Industries in town, and a few years back, they made an apartment complex happen because they recognize the need for housing.” The school district is also part of the solution, transforming decommissioned buildings into homes. “They recognized the need for housing and answered that call by working with an investment group to come in and renovate our schools for housing. One of those builds will include some duplexes on the school ground as well. So that’s in the progress right now,” portrays Mayor French. Reflecting on all of the growth happening throughout the city, Lavon emphasizes, “This town has so many projects in the hopper. There is a ton of investment and innovation happening right now, and in fact, it’s, unfortunately, a little known secret.” 157 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 11 IOLA, KS
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