Polk County Housing Trust Fund offers real estate program

The Polk County Housing Trust Fund has opened registration for the first phase of Develop the Developer Launchpad, a new initiative meant to help real estate developers grow in Polk County presented by Wells Fargo.

The program consists of a two-week boot camp and multi-month fellowship. The program became among the first in the country to use the new Freddie Mac multifamily developer curriculum after the housing organization was named an authorized partner for Freddie Mac’s Develop the Developer Academy.

“We know Polk County has a large need to rehabilitate and construct housing for the purpose of affordability, attainability, and stability. This launchpad will cultivate a talent pipeline of community-centric multifamily developers with the knowledge, resources, relationships, and capability to take on neighborhood-scale housing developments,” said Julian Neely, the housing trust fund’s director of advancement and community investment, in a press release.

The registration for the boot camp will remain open until Nov. 15 or until the capacity for the program is reached. A pre-registration questionnaire is required by all participants to determine eligibility for the program. Those interested also require a Polk County residency, demonstrated real estate experience, a commitment to the two-week classroom experience for the boot camp, and a $500 payment for registration.

The boot camp cohort will gather on Dec. 1, 2025. During the two-week program, participants will receive extensive knowledge in multifamily development, make connections with industry experts, and the resources to grow as multifamily developers in Polk County.

Graduates of the program will b eligible for the program’s second phase, beginning Spring 2026. It will pair fellows with local developers in Polk County to complete a “joint venture development”.

“We are really thinking ahead in terms of how do we have public private partnerships, to pursue equity and education around being a developer, an experience around being a developer,” said Danny Heggen, one of the local developers who is advising the new effort, in a press release.

The following local leaders have volunteered their time to assist PCHTF in developing and offering this new program:

Name	Affiliation
Britney Appelgate	Wells Fargo
Danny Heggen	Dev Partners
Malcolm Hankins	City of Des Moines
Kuuku Saah	Ntonan RE
Marvin DeJear	DeJear, Inc.
Molly Cutler	Cutler Development
Scott Cutler	Cutler Development
Frank Levy	Newbury Living
Jed Gammell	High Street Insurance
Larry James	Conveyance Law
Dan Drendel	Slingshot Architecture
Taylor Hays	Slingshot Architecture
Jake Christensen	Christensen Development
Steve Wilke-Shapiro	Sequel Architecture
James Spiller	Iowa State University
Mike Urquhart	Security National Bank
Joseph Bergman	JLL
Anthony Pawnell	DMACC