The Quad City Area Realtors (QCAR) will announce the winners of its ADU Design Contest during a ceremony Wednesday, Oct. 22, at its downtown Bettendorf office.
Short for Accessory Dwelling Unit, the ADU contest is a first-time initiative by the local real estate association. It’s designed to raise both awareness and interest in this new emerging housing option.
The contest and its cash prizes were made possible by QCAR receiving a $15,000 AARP Community Challenge grant. The bistate association, which represents 1,000 real estate agents across the QC region, was one of 383 recipients this year.
“This contest showcases the incredible talent and innovation within our community,” QCAR CEO Sharon Smith said in a Monday, Oct. 20, news release. “Accessory dwelling units represent an exciting solution to expand housing opportunities, and we’re proud to celebrate the creative ideas that emerged from this initiative.”
The 4-6 p.m. Wednesday awards ceremony will celebrate the participants’ creativity, innovation and forward-thinking housing solutions. It will be at QCAR’s office at 1900 State St. The event is open to community members, industry professionals, and local leaders interested in housing innovation.
There QCAR will reveal the winning designs and recognize all participants. The first-time competition received a total of 10 ADU designs. That included seven submitted in the professional category and three student designs.
Awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will be presented in both the student and professional categories along with these prizes:
- Student Category – $2,500, $1,000 and $750.
- Professional – $4,000, $2,000 and $1,000.
To attendy, email Becca Poirier ([email protected].), QCAR’s marketing and communications manager. She also was the contest’s project manager.
Meeting a challenge
Attendees will enjoy hors d’oeuvres, networking opportunities. They also can engage with the visionaries shaping the region’s future of housing.
According to QCAR, the ADU Design Contest was created to inspire local architects, designers, and community members to envision new approaches to affordable, sustainable, and flexible housing. They were challenged to design functional and creative ADU concepts that could enhance housing options across the region.
QCAR will share the winning design with those interested in ADUs as a housing option. Winning entries will be uploaded to QCAR’s website and are downloadable.
Ms. Smith previously told the QCBJ that the association had long wanted to raise the profile and awareness of ADUs as another housing option. But the contest only became a reality when it was selected by AARP for the challenge grant from a nationwide pool of more than 3,450 applications, representing all 50 states.
According to AARP, the 2025 Community Challenge – now in its ninth year – marks the largest number of grants ever awarded in the program’s nine-year history. This year, a total of $4.2 million was awarded to 383 projects.
All AARP’s grants were focused on meeting the needs of adults age 50 and older. In addition, $2 million, or 45% of the awards, will fund projects in rural communities, which makes it the grant’s largest-ever rural investment. Founded in 2017, AARP’s grant program has funded 2,100 community projects. A total of $24.3 million has been invested in 45,000 improvements.
The AARP Community Challenge is a nationwide grant program that funds innovative, community-based projects that improve quality of life for people of all ages.
