MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Finding housing is one of the challenges workers face in Marshalltown, but one of the town’s largest employers is now taking it upon itself to provide affordable housing for their employees.

Starting in 2020, JBS committed $20 million to affordable housing for various communities that it serves. The company invested $1.2 million into the Breckenridge Project in Marshalltown.

The President of the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce said that around the turn of the century, several companies underwent projects like this to create housing for employees. However, he said that it has been a long time since a company took part in a plan like this in Marshalltown.

Hall said, “Through a couple major natural disasters, we lost a lot of housing units. We were already woefully underbuilt. So, this is trying to catch us up to where we need to be in terms of building. So, we’re excited that we were able to cut the ribbon on this.”

This project will provide three apartment complexes on Seventh Avenue, with a total of 103 units. One of the buildings is already open. The second building will be ready in two months and the third building will be available in four.

The buildings will be managed by Mauna Management.

Rubi Orbe is the Human Resource Representative for the company. She said that this project falls under the Hometown Strong Initiative.

“Our mission is provide a better future for our team members, so this shows the commitment that goes beyond the workplace. It’s inside and outside of the plant. So, in order to retain and treat our employees the best we can, we have to care about their outside life too. And that means a really nice place to live and stuff to do around the town. So, we feel that this is the most impactful project we can do in our community,” said Orbe.

JBS employees and community members are able to live in these apartments. JBS will help employees who are looking for housing apply for these apartments.

There are currently three openings available. The price for JBS employees is projected to be less than the price for non-JBS employees.