MAPLETON, Iowa | The 14th and final home on Tower Street in Mapleton is being finished during the first quarter of 2014. Once the home is done and occupied, a little piece of Mapleton history is complete.
Or, at least one street.
"All 14 lots that were sold will have homes on," says Karla Uhl, Mapleton city clerk. "One home was completed this summer, and one was completed during the fall."
The Tower Street project began 14 years ago with the city's purchase and development of the site. After just a few homes were erected, development stalled. That is, until April 9, 2011, when a tornado tore through this Monona County town, damaging or destroying 142 business and residential dwellings.
The hammers, the nails and the work crews haven't really stopped since that night.
The late Laura Gries jump-started Mapleton's building boom in deciding to be the first resident to rebuild a home where her old home had stood minutes before the twister. Gries' family constructed the home, one in which she lived during the last couple of years of her life. Gries died in November 2013, but her legacy lives in the shot of optimism she imparted.
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"We've always had around 615 homes," Uhl reports. "We lost 50 in the tornado."
Since then, 33 have been rebuilt.
Residents bought the last five lots on Towers Street in March of 2013, all within days of one another. Historically low interest rates and incentives helped spur growth. Incentives included a city offer of $2,000 in discounts for lots priced at $8,000 on the east side of Tower Street; a second $2,000 rebate went to homeowners who built within 12 months of their lot purchase. Homeowners also could qualify for a five-year property tax abatement.
From April 10, 2011, (the day following the tornado) through Feb. 20 of this year, nearly 300 building permits representing a value of nearly $11 million have been filed at Mapleton City Hall. Permits range in value from $600,000 for remodeling at Mac's Chevrolet to $300 for a partial fence.
Commercial property owners who made improvements could qualify for a three-year property tax abatement.
"The city takes the loss of those property taxes," Uhl explains. "Since we had the tornado, the state considered Mapleton a blighted area. That's what this program is designed to do, help revitalize an urban area."
Destruction covered all areas of the city, so all parts of the city were eligible.
"It helped people decide that this was the time to rebuild," Uhl observes, adding that fears of Mapleton residents taking insurance settlements and relocating elsewhere have largely been allayed.
Bert Schauer is part of a group that owned 17 properties in Mapleton before the tornado. He added properties to his portfolio in the wake of the storm. The former Bell's Kwik Stop at 417 S. 4th St. is one such addition that represents an upgrade for the community. What had been reduced to a pile of lumber and glass in the storm is now the Grab & Go, a thriving full-service convenience store, diner and fuel station capable of blending four types of ethanol.
The business employs 15 full- and part-time staff members.
"Three years of property tax abatements were a factor, yes," Shauer says. "So were low interest rates and our ability to work with the city and the local bank."
Business, according to Schauer, has exceeded expectations since the Grab & Go opened in October 2012.
