Frank Levy

Editor’s Note: The scores for the grant applications accompany this art5icle in a pdf and the application is included with the article. Both were provided by the Iowa Economic development Authority.

“Our project is dead and we do not intend to pursue any other funding avenues,” was the word on Friday, Jan. 16, from Frank Levy, president of Newbury Living. His company had plans on the drawing board and a commitment to buy the closed Budget Inn property in Toledo as the site of a 24-unit apartment complex.

The apartments, intended to boost local housing needs for the recently reopened Iowa Premium Beef plant in Tama, were dependent upon approval of a $3 million Community Development Block Grant.

A total of some $52 million in federal funds still left from 2008 Iowa flood recovery money was awarded by the Iowa Economic Development Authority last week.

The Toledo project scored 33 points in the evaluation. The top projects scored 56, one each in Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Cedar Falls.

Budget Inn property at South Broadway and Business Highway 30 in Toledo. Chronicle file photo

The Chronicle supplied the score evaluations to Newbury’s Levy. His reaction was, “To be honest, I am really scratching my head as to why our Toledo project received such a low score. We do not believe any proposed project in the state could have been as aligned with the local housing need as ours was.”

Toledo Mayor Dave Svoboda had this reaction to the initial news, as reported last week, “I was disappointed and really shocked” at the result “and I think everybody was.”

Iowa Premium Beef officials have stressed the need for more housing here in meetings with city officials. The recently opened packing plant has an initial employment goal of 600 and plans to move to 1,000 employees in phase 2.

Newbury Living had signed an agreement to buy the 2.5 acre Budget inn property at South Broadway and Business Highway 30 from owner Hetal P. Rasania who was reported to have accepted in September, 2014 at a price of $130,000. The deal depended upon the approval of CDBG funding.

Company information says Newbury Living, based in West Des Moines, manages 3,000 apartment homes in Iowa.

Money from the awards funded 21 projects state-wide with most in the state’s large cities.

In the area, an award of $1.2 million was made for construction of four loft apartments in the Kibbey Building for low to moderate income residents.