Non-profit i2i pushes ahead with plans to meet Clarion’s housing needs

The newly re-formed non-profit, i2i, unveiled plans for a new, much needed housing development in Clarion during the Wright County Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday, Dec. 9. Terry Utech, First Citizens National Bank President, presented the Supervisors with detailed plans for the new units, which are proposed to be built in four phases.

                The exciting design will include an Iowa-centric wetlands centerpiece to mask the need for drainage on the proposed plot which accesses Highway 3, located between Stronghold and Fred Hoiberg’s Clarion Auto Center. Phase I is scheduled to commence as soon as next spring, as the financing and interest continue to build. Last Monday, i2i was informed that their request for low-interest loans of $150,000 each from both Cornbelt Energy and Prairie Energy have been approved; the City of Clarion is enthused with the plan, as are the Wright County Board of Supervisors.

                Said Utech, “The natural progression of life is that a young couple get married and they buy a small home, children come along and they need a bigger home, when folks retire, they often like to build a home; it’s a dream, a goal” as well as one customized to their changing needs and tastes, thus starting the cycle all over again with the next generation. Clarion has had some issues with that model as, according to major employers, Iowa Specialty Hospital and Hagies, fully 60 percent of their combined workforce do not even live in the Clarion area.

Read the full article in the Dec. 12 edition of the WCM.