By all accounts, the 123-year-old house on West 13th Street in Davenport was in horrible shape.
The former rental property was vacant, falling apart and needed a lot of work.
The two-story house at 1413 W. 13 St. got that work. It’s now for sale under the City of Davenport’s Urban Homestead program. (That program uses federally funded grants to provide homeownership opportunities to low- and moderate-income families.)
Many of the houses in the program were acquired by the city and need massive renovation work, according to Letty Goslowsky, revitalization supervisor with Community and Economic Development for the City of Davenport.
“This is one of our biggest transitions to date. … I’m really proud of it,” she added on Thursday, July 6, during an open house for members of the media.
Public open houses to look over the house are set for Saturday, July 8, and Sunday, July 9, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. both days.
Ms. Goslowsky said she expects the home to sell fast; perhaps this summer and before the start of the new school year. (People interested in buying the home can go to davenportiowa.com/urbanhomestead and click on “application.” The deadline to apply to buy the home is Friday, July 14.)
Here are some details on the home:
- Price and financial: $138,000 price for the home with loan terms of 3% interest over 30 years. The estimated monthly payment is $781.
- Home features: Built in 1900; living area of 1,300 square feet; three bedrooms; one full bathroom and a one three-fourth bathroom; asphalt shingles; central air; unfinished basement; and a detached two-car garage. As part of the renovation project, the old garage was demolished and a new garage was built for the home. The house also has new siding. The color is a dark, pale green officially known as sagebrook.
- Home history: The house was a rental property for about 10 years, and has been vacant for the past two to three years, said Ms. Goslowsky.
- Location: The 1413 W. 13th St. site is in the Jefferson Elementary, Smart Junior High, Central High School districts. The house is located in the middle of a block near the Fillmore Street intersection and a few blocks from the former Marycrest College.
- Income eligibility: Minimum annual income of $31,500 is required to be eligible.
- Information: For more on the home or application process, call (563) 326-7765.
Ms. Goslowsky said the home was acquired by the city in November 2021. A contract for renovations was approved with Clark Design & Development of Bettendorf last summer and the house has been undergoing massive repairs and renovations for the past year.
John Clark, owner of Clark Design & Development, described the condition of the house in one word when work started: “inhabitable.”
In the past year, Mr. Clark and his crew have been renovating almost every square inch of the home from relocating the kitchen, an entire layout change of the home interior, tearing down the home’s old garage and building a new garage, new stairway and many other projects.
“We took everything down to the studs,” he added.
On Thursday, the home was still a work in progress. Workers were busy putting up the front and back doors, working in the basement, finishing up details in the bathrooms and more projects. In fact, there was a sign in the front window stating “Transformation in Progress. No Trespassing.”
All those in-progress projects are expected to be done by this weekend’s public open houses.
“We’re making this an affordable and safe home for families,” added Ms. Goslowsky.
