Joppa Opens First Cottage Home

Joppa cut the ribbon on its first Cottage Home on Feb. 14 at 1305 Laurel in Des Moines.  At the event, keys to the cottage were handed over to the first Joppa tenant, Will Winder, who moved in the same day.

“We’re excited to cut the ribbon and open the door to our first tenant into our Cottage Home,” said Joppa CEO Dave Schwartz. “As is well documented, Des Moines has a shortage of truly- affordable housing, and this home is our first step in addressing this problem.”

Joppa Cottage Homes are truly affordable for senior citizens, veterans and others living on fixed or part-time incomes in our community. These smaller-than-average, market-rate homes are a key component of the Joppa mission to help prevent and end homelessness in Central Iowa.

Des Moines Mayor, Frank Cownie, and Polk County Supervisor, Matt McCoy, spoke at the ribbon cutting, as well as Joppa cofounder Joe Stevens.

“We are so grateful for the generous reception we have received from the neighborhood association and the City of Des Moines,” Schwartz said. “We look forward to continuing to uplift neighborhoods and individuals as we move forward.”

As part of its mission to help prevent and end homelessness, Joppa is building truly-affordable Cottage Homes as permanent housing for seniors, veterans and others on fixed or part-time incomes, while laying the groundwork for Iowa’s first Tiny Home Village to provide transitional housing in a safe, secure, gated-community along with structured programs that help people gain sources of income and overcome other barriers to permanent housing.