Lily Jefford of DeWitt, Iowa, stands in front of the Iowa Mutual Lofts apartment building Wednesday, May 21, during a celebration welcoming the building’s completed renovations. The building has been transformed from a former insurance company office building into a 53-unit apartment complex. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
DEWITT, Iowa – Diane Geffers looked over apartment 104 in the new Iowa Mutual Lofts building and as she looked over the space, the memories came flooding back. She was immediately attracted to the 1970s-style wood paneling that covered two walls in the new one-bedroom apartment. “This apartment used to be a conference room. That […]
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DEWITT, Iowa – Diane Geffers looked over apartment 104 in the new Iowa Mutual Lofts building and as she looked over the space, the memories came flooding back.She was immediately attracted to the 1970s-style wood paneling that covered two walls in the new one-bedroom apartment.“This apartment used to be a conference room. That wood is left over from that time when it was the Iowa Mutual Insurance building,” said Ms. Geffers, who worked for the former insurance company for years.The Grand Mound woman was one of hundreds of people who toured the renovated building late Wednesday, May 21, during a celebration to officially re-welcome the building to DeWitt. (The Iowa Mutual Lofts – located in the two-building, three-story facility at 509 Ninth St. that had housed the former Iowa Mutual Insurance building – is ready for tenants.)
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A ribbon-cutting ceremony is held Wednesday, May 21, to celebrate the opening of the new Iowa Mutual Lofts in DeWitt, Iowa. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
A.J. Loss, president and CEO of Bush Construction, the contractor and an investor for the Iowa Mutual Lofts project, welcomes guests to a celebration Wednesday, May 21, to reveal the completed restoration of the once office building into apartments. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
People starts their tour of the apartment building.
People look over the big windows in apartment 216.
This is apartment 104 in the new Iowa Mutual Lofts in DeWitt, Iowa. The wood paneling on the left and right sides are left over from the days when the new apartment was a conference room for the former Iowa Mutual Insurance. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The new Iowa Mutual Lofts apartment building in DeWitt was once the Iowa Mutual Insurance building. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham talks with A.J. Loss, president and CEO of Bush Construction, during the Wednesday, May 21, celebration for the Iowa Mutual Lofts apartment building in DeWitt, Iowa. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
A.J. Loss, right, president and CEO of Bush Construction, the contractor and an investor for the Iowa Mutual Lofts project, talks with Dwight Williams.
This is one of the apartments in the building.
This is apartment 216 in the building.
This is the movie room in the apartment building.
These Iowa Mutual Lofts cookies were available at the celebration.
This is the fitness room at the apartments.
The celebration included tours, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, many people sharing stories and memories of the building, and the lofts’ management company, Ruhl&Ruhl Property Management, showing apartments to potential tenants.Here are some of the building’s features visitors got to see:
53 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Washer and dryer in every unit.
Elevator access and secure entry doors.
Pet-friendly building.
Fitness room, movie room, and club room for resident use.
Storage lockers available for an additional fee.
Enclosed, heated parking and covered parking options.
The original two-building Iowa Mutual Insurance complex was built in several stages between 1924 and 1974. The iconic L-shape design connects the two buildings, which span about 63,000 square feet of total space.
The $15 million renovation project has been in the works for years. Leaders in DeWitt had hoped renovation work would begin in 2022, but it was delayed. Most of those delays centered around actions of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as the renovation project awaited HUD financing.
More information on the lofts and apartment rentals can be found here. Blueprints of the apartments can be found here.Currently, about 10 apartments have been rented, and several apartments were scheduled to be shown to potential renters this week. The tenants who have already moved in love their new home, property management leaders said.“They love the uniqueness. This isn’t anything that they have seen before. …. This is not a cookie-cutter design,” said Misty Grady, property manager for the Iowa Mutual Lofts.That “uniqueness” comes from the fact that many of the former office building features have been preserved in the new apartments. For instance, apartment 104 maintained the old wood paneling of a conference room; apartment 210 has original glass block windows; and apartment 216 has massive windows from the days when it was an insurance executive’s office.“No one unit looks like the other. … We’ve brought this building to its next chapter,” said A.J. Loss, president and CEO of Bush Construction, the contractor and an investor for the Iowa Mutual building project.During Wednesday’s celebration, the theme of that next chapter was “historical charm meets modern convenience,” according to information provided by Ruhl&Ruhl.One of the complex’s first tenants appreciates the historic charm, but decided to move in largely because of all the modern touches.“Everything is brand new. We have a washer and dryer in the apartment, and we got a good price. … And the floors in this place are beautiful,” said Lily Jefford.Ms. Jefford, who moved into a studio apartment about six weeks ago, added that she also loves her new home because it’s close to her work in DeWitt.That convenience is also another big reason why the new apartment building will help the Clinton County community, according to Angela Rheingans, the executive director of the DeWitt Chamber and Development Company.She added that the Iowa Mutual Lofts will help drive economic development in the city. It provides more housing in DeWitt so residents don’t have to leave the community to find a home. It will also help attract more people to live in DeWitt, and shop in local businesses.“It’s a true game-changer for our community. … It’s not just housing,” said Ms. Rheingans.For many at Wednesday’s celebration, though, the once vacant building has been turned into a source of pride and a new, beautiful landmark in the community. For instance, Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham toured the building and told the crowd she loved what she saw. “This is going to be an award winner. … I didn’t even know I liked the 1970s designs,” she said.Ms. Durham added that she refers to herself as a “building hugger” because she loves to see projects like the Iowa Mutual Lofts where an old building gets new use and a new life for the community.That new life for an old building also was heralded by Greg Gannon, president of Crossroads Unlimited Co., a local economic development company that has formed to help fund the building project. He also is president of DeWitt Bank & Trust.Mr. Gannon called the apartment building “the jewel of our downtown community.” But, he added, getting to that jewel status came after years of hard work and a lot of money. That trek started with the closure of Iowa Mutual. At its employment peak, the insurance company had about 300 people working in the building. About 35 employees still were there working at the time of its closure. The building has been vacant since 2019 after Iowa Mutual merged with Encova. That closure was not a surprise, but still a “gut punch” to the community, Mr. Gannon recalled.The community business leader praised the many people and companies that came together after that tough closure to help make the Iowa Mutual Lofts possible. “It’s been a long and sometimes trying road to get here,” he said.Many of the guests touring the apartments said they know it took hard work to transform the building into housing units. But many, like Ms. Geffers, also have fond memories of their days at Iowa Mutual Insurance.“I miss working here, but this is going to be good for this community,” she said.
