The following is in response to last week’s announcement by the Iowa Finance Authority that tax credits will be issued for the development of a senior housing project near Newton’s downtown square.
To the editor:
This certainly was a united effort to bring this big project to Newton. First and foremost, Miller-Valentine and its lead developer, Peter Schwiegerat, spent about 200 hours working on the application. They are an outstanding company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with more than 11,000 rental units across the country.
Working with Miller-Valentine was the staff of the City of Newton, including City Administrator Bob Knabel and Development and Finance Director Bryan Friedman. They crafted an incentive package that was appealing to both Miller-Valentine and the Iowa Finance Authority and the Newton City Council had the wisdom to adopt it.
The Iowa Finance Authority has been extremely helpful in working with the Newton Housing Development Corporation. They originally suggested to Miller-Valentine that they consider Newton, and, of course, they are the people who delivered the tax credits.
Certainly, this project could not have been brought to fruition without Newton Housing Development Corporation’s financial partners. Newton Development Corporation has been of great assistance in this project. The Jasper Community Foundation, the City of Newton, and the Jasper County ISU Extension and Outreach have all made significant investment in Newton Housing Development Corporation’s work, as have so many others in the community who are working for an improvement in the quality and quantity of Newton housing.
John E. Carl
President
Janet Reents
Executive Director
Newton Housing Dev. Corp.