For more than 30 years James Conlin, founder of Conlin Cos., has helped build, buy, sell and manage residential and commercial real estate projects in Greater Des Moines through his company’s property management, construction and brokerage services. But the most rewarding aspect of his job, he said, is providing quality affordable housing to those less fortunate than himself.

“There’s a real need at the lower end of the economic scale for all kinds of services, not just housing,” Conlin said. “For whatever reasons, the problem is getting worse.”

On Tuesday, Conlin Properties Inc. will celebrate the grand opening of Parkside East, located at 3560 E. Douglas Ave. It is one of three new affordable housing communities the company is developing, the others being Windfield West in Waukee and Deer Ridge on the southwest side of Des Moines.

Constructed under the Section 42 Affordable Housing program administered by the Iowa Finance Authority, Parkside East will have a total of 145 units. Sixty-one units have been completed and another 54 units will be finished by the end of the year. Construction of the project’s final 30 units will begin next spring, company officials say.

Though tenants receive no subsidies under Section 42, they must earn less than 60 percent of their area’s median income to qualify for the housing. In Des Moines, those median incomes range from $28,000 for one person to $46,500 for a family of six.

Kris Saddoris, director of development for Conlin Properties, said the company is proud of the quality of its affordable housing developments. The complexes feature maintenance-free exteriors, concrete parking and drives, casement windows, steel door frames, solid-core doors, steel staircases, wide hallways, wood trim and a full appliance package. Other amenities include commercial playgrounds, gazebos, basketball courts and a community center that houses a computer center. The company also provides an array of services, including credit counseling, homeownership training, family counseling, computer training and several family activities.

“Our goal in developing these projects is to get away from the stereotypical view of what affordable housing is,” Saddoris said. “We have an obligation to provide safe, quality housing for families and they have the obligation to pay us rent and treat the property like it’s their home. We’re trying to change the view of affordable housing.”

In addition to providing housing, Conlin and his wife, Roxanne, personally get involved with the children who live in their apartments. On Mother’s Day, the couple partners with Boesen the Florist and Dowling Catholic High School to provide each child with a plant to give to his or her mother. Earlier this year, the couple took 1,200 children to Adventureland and gave them each $5 to spend on food.

“I feel very fortunate to work for Jim and Roxanne, as I have found them to be two of the most passionate people I know about serving those that cannot help themselves in this community,” Saddoris said. “They also tend to be low profile about what they do.”

Saddoris said it would be easy for the couple to invest their time and energy in more profitable endeavors, but they would not find them to be as rewarding.

“It certainly would be much easier to develop high-end apartments or commercial developments,” she said. “But I think they both believe that the benefits they gain from what they provide to this community will long outlive any financial gain that they would realize from a commercial deal.”

Conlin said he plans to build to four additional affordable housing communities in 2004 and he challenges other developers to follow suit.

“Life is a two-way street,” he said. “We put out the challenge for other developers to do the same thing we have done.”

A HELPING HAND

In 1986, a change was made in the federal tax code to allow investors who owned single-family and multi-family residential buildings to receive tax credits by adhering to strict federal guidelines that designated their properties as affordable housing.

Different from subsidized or rent-controlled housing, tax credit projects, developers say, are attractive investments because they reward developers with profitability and a substantial tax break in return for their equity investment.

In 1990, Conlin Cos. became involved with tax credit projects. Company officials say they found it to be a natural fit to add the tax credit properties to their real estate portfolio. But the company’s philosophy of hands-on management of these properties has produced additional benefits – namely an improvement in the quality of life for low-income families.