United Action for Youth exploring possible relocation

IOWA CITY - United Action for Youth's board of directors is exploring the possibility of moving out of the organization's two near downtown houses.

To assess the value of the organization's properties at 410 and 422 Iowa Ave., the board will be accepting offers from developers and real estate entities for the two sites through the end of March.

Board President Shannon Christensen said the growing cost of maintaining the two former houses, each of which are more than 100 years old, has been a concern in recent years and prompted the decision to explore other options.

'For the last few years we've run into issues with the houses on Iowa Avenue not being able to adequately meet our needs. The amount of money we spend on upkeep also takes away from our programming,” she said. 'It's just becoming clearer and clearer that one point we have to consider is the possibility of moving.”

Christensen said the subcommittee overseeing the offers likely will not present a recommendation to the full board until May.

Ultimately the board's hope is to see what options might be available to find a more suitable place for the organization's counseling and therapy programs, teen parent support program and transitional learning office space, all of which operate in the two Iowa Avenue houses.

Christensen said there is always the possibility no suitable offer is received and services stay where they are. Development proposed for that property also will be weighed, she added.

'We want to be good stewards of the property, it's important to us what goes there, we want to be good neighbors,” she said. 'We are going at this very methodically.”

The house at 410 Iowa Ave. was built in 1900 and the house at 422 Iowa Ave. was built in 1895, according to the Iowa City Assessor website. Combined, the two properties and houses had an assessed value of nearly $800,000 in 2014, according to the site.

UAY has operated programs and counseling out of the two houses since the late 80s, said Stu Mullins, UAY executive director.

Mullins said the spaces have served UAY well over the years and while the near downtown location is great and operating in former houses provides an inviting atmosphere for clients, the cost of maintaining aging buildings is a growing concern. Providing enough parking and using the space for counseling sessions can also be problematic, he said.

'They're not really designed for office use,” he said. 'It's an old space that's getting harder and harder to maintain both financially and just through sheer work.”

Finding another location near downtown would be ideal, but Mullins said that will be fleshed out at a later date, if the board decides to move.

Regardless, UAY's Youth Center at 355 Iowa Ave., will continue operations as usual and no programs will be cut if a move takes place, Mullins said.

Founded in 1970, UAY offers programs to parents and area youth and serves more than 2,600 people a year.