Kading Properties has been working to increase workforce housing in Marshalltown ever since the 2018 tornado, but that isn’t the only goal they’re striving toward.

Director of Development Carrie Woerdeman said that being a fixture in the community and striving to be a part of Marshalltown is one of their top priorities, and though the company is based out of Urbandale, they have developed around 130 homes in four major housing developments in Marshalltown.

Kading was established in Marshalltown prior to the tornado, and their first Plaza Heights development had already been completed. The second Plaza Heights development had been approved in 2018, the same year the tornado hit. While the tornado may have been a deterrent for some, Kading saw a need for housing and doubled down to build more homes.

Woerdeman said following the tornado, Kading President and CEO Karie Kading Ramsey discussed the housing situation with City Administrator Jessica Kinser and Housing and Community Development Director Michelle Spohnheimer, who had expressed their desire for more housing in the area. Ramsey took this and ran and began looking for other properties in the area to help out with housing. After a few false starts, the property located at 1010 Washington St. became the Park Place housing development with a whopping 79 homes.

“We really view our role in housing development from the standpoint of housing as community and economic development,” Woerdeman said. “The more rooftops you have in the community, you can keep jobs full and you can bring more retailers and more services to the community, and so, we’re excited to see some re-development take place on that Lincoln Way area that’s just to the north of our development.”

The Park Place housing development also benefited from tree donations provided by the Marshalltown High School Class of 1969 and their MHS Bobcat Alumni Fund, something Woerdeman said was exciting for Kading as it helps to establish the company as a part of the community.

“We were able to work with them to receive donated trees for (the Park Place) project, which I think is really cool and helps it really implant itself as part of the community there,” Woerdeman said.

Kading, which has been in business for the last 45 years, has historically focused on developing cities in Central Iowa, and according to Woerdeman, they’ve increased their development a lot in the last 15 years, paying special attention to the smaller cities that lay on the outskirts of the Des Moines metro area. By that metric, Marshalltown was a good fit.

Woerdeman said Kading also considered the need for workforce housing in Marshalltown for the renters that need homes that fit with middle income budgets, which is the demographic the company aims to serve with their rental townhomes.

“Marshalltown has some great local employers that offer a wage that is above what people will qualify for in the affordable housing realm, when there are income restrictions and income maximums, but (there are) a lot of jobs, just like in every community, where people are not necessarily looking at the luxury high end of the spectrum as well. So, it’s kind of that middle income, that missing housing, that so many communities are missing,” Woerdeman said.

Now that Kading is in Marshalltown, they don’t plan to go anywhere soon. Woerdeman said that the company plans to manage their properties long term, and because of this, they want to have as much community involvement as possible.

Kading is one of the companies sponsoring the cookie decorating activity during the Holiday Stroll at the Tallcorn Ballroom Saturday evening, which is just one way they’re getting involved.

“Our goal is to be part of the community, so participating in community events and the chamber of commerce and supporting the other businesses in town,” Woerdeman said. “We want our staff and our team and the residents who live in our communities to really be an active part of Marshalltown.”

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Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or

smeyer@timesrepublican.com.