Work on North Grand Apartments starts up again after tax credit award

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

After a year of little progress, work is beginning again at the North Grand Building.

The multi-million dollar project to convert the former middle school building into an apartment complex has been fraught with complications since developer Shawn Foutch purchased the building from the school district in 2019.

Plans for the building renovations were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and have been inching forward since. The project saw little progress in 2024 due to a funding bottleneck as Foutch waited for the state to process the application for historical tax credits needed to finance the project.

“It’s a killer to have one stalled like this,” said Foutch.

The extended delay resulted in more than just a disruption of the project’s timeline. In November a lawsuit was filed against Foutch’s company for the project, 500NGrandHomes LLC, over payment for design services.

However, in early December, the Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded the project nearly $1.7 million in state income tax credits, providing a critical boost needed to get the project moving again.

Picking up where they stopped last year, the building’s interior is mostly demolished and work is starting on the framing for the walls.

“They’re not up to full force yet, but they are started,” said Foutch. “Hopefully by the time the weather’s a little nicer we’ll be going whole hog.”

Under the current timeline, Foutch said he hopes for an opening in spring of 2026.