A joint partnership between the University of Iowa and Iowa City was honored at a conference in Ames, according to a city press release.

UniverCity Neighborhood Partnership Program, a housing-stabilization and neighborhood-rehabilitation program, was launched in March 2010; it won a top award for best practice at the Iowa Chapter of the American Planning Association Conference.

The program was launched to address the low number of homeowner-occupied housing as opposed to rental properties in neighborhoods surrounding downtown and the UI Main Campus.

According to the release, the program has purchased 30 homes to date with renovations up to $50,000 per home.

The program has sold 26 of the 30 homes, with the additional four under current renovation. The homes are made into single-family homes, then offered to income-qualifying buyers.