Photographer: Justin Rogers of West Des Moines, IA

Derelict Building Grant

Pioneered by Keep Iowa Beautiful, the Derelict Building Program is now sponsored by the Iowa DNR and offers Iowa communities of 5,000 or fewer residents’ financial assistance to address neglected structures that have sat vacant for at least six months.

The program’s focus is landfill diversion through the recycling and reuse of building materials. Since the establishment of the program in 2011 through 2022, the program has assisted 123 communities with 169 projects, diverting over 77,106 tons of materials and saved over $2.9 million in landfill disposal costs.

Apply to the Program

There are three areas of eligibility criteria:

• Building must not reside on the National Historic Register.
• Only a City government may be an applicant and they must own or be in the process of owning the building.  Applicants may partner with non-profits on projects, but building must be owned by applicant.
• The building must be a former commercial or public building that’s been abandoned for at least six months.