Maquoketa officials hold ribbon cutting on ‘pocket neighborhood’

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Jackson County officials held a ribbon cutting at the Bear River Cottages housing complex Tuesday morning.

The cottages are a group of small homes intentionally placed close together in what officials are calling a “pocket neighborhood”.

“It’s a new concept for eastern Iowa and a model for affordable workforce housing in our region,” said Beth Bonz, Chairperson for East Central Intergovernmental Association and East Central Development Corporation.

Ten homes make up the neighborhood. Each house is about a thousand square feet and is priced at $150,000. The project aims to help solve the affordable housing shortage. According to a housing study, Maquoketa needs about 300 new homes in the next few years.

“It proves that we can grow our population one family at a time with the right housing for our robust workforce and investing in the economy where jobs are thriving,” said Debi Durham, Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

The 2.3 million dollar development intentionally placed the homes near each other to provide a close-knit sense of community.

“There is nothing more important than working to provide clean, safe, affordable, and comfortable housing. A place to call home for individuals and families,” said Steve Lindner, Chairperson for the EIRHC Housing Trust Fund.

All ten homes have been sold and all the homeowners have moved in. The project first broke ground in 2019.