Forty-eight apartments will be constructed for the housing component, believed to be the first of its kind in Sioux City. Johnson points out the average wage-earner in the historic district would qualify under the program's guidelines. Other financing has come from a group of private investors, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, the Enterprise Social Investment Corp. and the city, through funds it receives from the federal CDBG and HOME programs. A partner in the project, Community Housing Initiatives Inc., is handling the housing component. The apartments will cover the top two floors and the rear portion of the third floor.
Office space is envisioned for the rest of that level, as well as the entire second floor.
The first level will be devoted to retail. The investors, Johnson says, have not settled on specific floor plans. Among the architectural features displayed in the Plymouth Block are tall arched windows like those shown from inside the top floor. The original atrium in the middle of the Plymouth was long ago covered with roofing materials. As part of the renovation plan underway for the Historic Fourth Street building, the five-story glass atrium will be restored.