Special Derelict Building Grant Program

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources administers the Derelict Building Grant Program and has received an additional $1 million allocation for the program. For this special funding round, the Department is using the additional funding to support qualified asbestos abatement projects in small Iowa communities. The round is intended to help communities address asbestos hazards associated with vacant and derelict structures. The DNR explains that derelict buildings can impair development, contribute to community blight, harbor vectors, create fire hazards, attract illegal dumping, and pose threats to public safety, public health, and the environment. Asbestos is a particular concern because asbestos-containing materials were widely used in buildings, can significantly increase disposal costs, and may limit opportunities to reuse or recycle materials from deconstructed structures. Financial assistance under this special round includes 100 percent reimbursement for Certified Asbestos Inspections. The program also provides 100 percent reimbursement for the abatement of asbestos-containing material up to $10,000. For abatement costs exceeding $10,000, a 50 percent cost share is required. The source does not establish an overall maximum grant award because assistance can continue beyond the initial $10,000 abatement amount under the stated cost-share structure, and no maximum reimbursement amount for Certified Asbestos Inspections is specified. Funds are released on a reimbursement basis after the Department receives a correctly completed Grant Expense Sheet and supporting documentation such as an invoice, receipt, or purchase order. Awarded amounts may not equal the amounts requested. Eligible applicants are municipal governments in Iowa with populations of less than 5,000. An eligible project must involve a commercial or public building that has been unoccupied for at least six months and is owned by a local government. The building must meet the program's derelict-building context, which includes conditions such as abandonment, owner recalcitrance or financial inability to bring the building into compliance, dilapidation, neglect, nuisance conditions, disrepair, deterioration, or falling into ruins. A building listed on the National Register of Historic Places or maintaining a State of Iowa Historical listing is not eligible. A municipal applicant may partner with a local nonprofit organization on a project, but the source identifies municipal governments, rather than nonprofit organizations, as the eligible applicants. Program funds may not be used for taxes, overhead expenses, indirect expenses, legal costs, contingency funds, proposal preparation, land acquisition, or costs for which payment has or will be received through another financial assistance program. Costs incurred before an executed agreement are ineligible, as are costs incurred after the agreement's Time of Performance or costs not identified in the executed agreement budget or a subsequent amended budget. These restrictions make the timing of expenditures and the approved project budget important conditions of reimbursement. Successful applicants must perform funded work within the authorized project period and retain the documentation necessary to substantiate reimbursement requests. Applications for the special funding round are due to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources by close of business on Friday, October 9, 2026. The source identifies the round as currently launched and provides the Special Asbestos Funding Application and funding instructions, but it does not state a separate application opening date, letter of intent deadline, concept paper requirement, or other pre-application gating step. It also does not provide formal proposal scoring criteria or an award notification date. Questions concerning the Derelict Building Program or the preparation and delivery of proposals may be directed to Reid Bermel, Land Quality Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 6200 Park Ave Ste 200, Des Moines, Iowa 50321, by phone at 515-217-7230 or by email at reid.bermel@dnr.iowa.gov. Successful applicants will have from December 1, 2026 through February 26, 2027 to complete their asbestos abatement projects. Costs incurred before an agreement is executed, after the agreement expires, or outside the approved budget will not qualify for reimbursement. The materials supplied for this special round do not state that the opportunity recurs annually, biennially, quarterly, or on another regular schedule, so no future cycle is projected. Communities preparing applications should confirm that the applicant population, local-government ownership, vacancy period, historic-listing status, project budget, and proposed asbestos work satisfy the stated requirements and should plan expenditures so they occur only after execution of the grant agreement and within the authorized performance period.

Confirm the municipality has a population under 5,000 and owns the eligible building; verify the building has been unoccupied for at least six months and is not historically listed; do not incur project costs before an executed agreement; keep costs within the approved budget and performance period; retain invoices, receipts, purchase orders, and other reimbursement documentation.