Construction is beginning soon at Walnut Crossing, a workforce housing townhome project on the northwest corner of North Warrior Lane and Northwest Douglas Parkway.

The Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity, in partnership with the city of Waukee, is developing the project, which will include 48 three- to five-bedroom townhomes. Qualifying homebuyers will pay no more than 30% of their monthly income on the mortgage, according to Habitat for Humanity. A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held last week.

Habitat for Humanity and the city of Waukee have worked for more than two years on the project, which is being built on land the nonprofit is acquiring from the city. The transaction is expected to be completed this week. Occupancy of the townhomes could begin in 2026. The project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2027, a spokesperson for the group said.

Lance Henning, Habitat’s CEO, talked about the project at a recent Project515 virtual event on the housing market. “It’s an exciting project and it’s a great partnership with Waukee that I think can be a model that could work across the metro area,” Henning said. “More and more people are getting priced out of the housing market. If you look back two decades ago, the lower middle class didn’t have a problem purchasing an existing home. Today, you really need to almost be in the upper middle class to be able to purchase a home.”