Central Iowa's first agrihood focuses on putting farm first in $260 million project

Donnelle Eller
The Des Moines Register

CUMMING, Ia. — Dan Fillius picked cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers and cantaloupe last week, the start of what eventually will be about 100 acres of fruits, vegetables, flowers, orchards and meadows.

The farm Fillius is developing will be the center of Middlebrook, a $260 million home, townhome, commercial and office project on 540 acres near Cumming. 

The area's rolling hills, ponds and timber will eventually be home to central Iowa's first "agrihood," a planned community of about 1,000 homes built around a working farm and community gardens.

It's one of more than 200 agrihoods that have cropped up across the country, a trend that appeals to consumers who want a slice of country life — big gardens, nature and outdoor recreation — near urban centers.

Dan Fillius, an ISU extension specialist, walks through a row of crops as he makes his daily to-do list on the vegetable farm that will be the focus of Cumming's agrihood housing developments on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019 in Cumming.

"Starting the farm first shows that we're committed to the 'agri-' part of the 'agrihood,'" said Fillius, Middlebrook's new vegetable farm manager.

The farm will anchor the project's town center or "town farm" as developer Steve Bruere calls it.

"We want people to know the farm is real. It's not just pretty drawings," said Bruere, a partner in Diligent Development, the group behind the project.

"At the end of the day, everyone wants to know what it means to be in an agrihood," he said. "It needs to be authentic."

Middlebrook's farm will have a farm stand inside a converted barn, showcase gardens with edible and native plantings, "you-pick" flower gardens, pumpkin patches and orchards, an "event green" for gatherings, and a large vegetable farm that visitors can walk and bike around.

The developers want to build on Cumming's "small-town charm," as well as connect to the Great Western Trail that draws thousands of bikers to the area each year, Bruere said.

Paths throughout Middlebrook will connect to the 17-mile trail.

Residential areas will have private garden plots that residents can rent to grow their own veggies, and edible landscaping with blueberry and raspberry plants.

Getting Fillius on board was a big part of building out the farm and the farm town.

"We really want people to experience the agriculture components of the project," Bruere said. "Then later, people will say 'we want to live here. I want to bring my family here.'"

It's one reason developers hosted a large RAGBRAI party at the farm, with the Nadas performing for riders passing through Cumming on their way to Indianola.

And the farm will host an open house Aug. 29 and a fall festival Sept. 28.

MORE: Goodbye, city life: Iowa's first 'agrihood' promises country living on edge of Des Moines

Bruere is working on deals with a group that will operate the flower gardens and another one that wants to operate a wedding venue, a "you-pick" apple orchard and farm-to-table restaurant.

He said getting the vegetable farm established as a self-supporting operation is key to the project. "We think we have an opportunity to build a for-profit, standalone business," he said.

In other agrihoods, the neighborhood associations help support the farms that provide the community with produce.

And Diligent Development is close to hammering out a deal with an Iowa craft brewer to move into its renovated 1900 schoolhouse where former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, once attended school.

A couple acres of hops will be grown at the brewery slated to go into the  renovated schoolhouse in Cumming. It's  part of the $260 million "agrihood" under development there. The name of the brewing company hasn't yet been released.

The brewery will feature a two-acre hops garden and outdoor seating. 

The group plans to build a modern barn next door to house the brewing equipment and potentially provide rental bike storage for people wanting to jump on the Great Western trail.

The brewery, wedding venue, orchard and flower gardens will be standalone businesses, Bruere said.

"These operations won't go away once we sell the lots," he said. "I think it's a critical point."

Fillius, who also works as an Iowa State University Extension outreach produce safety specialist, has started selling produce at the farm.

He helped run a 140-acre organic vegetable farm in Minnesota before moving to Iowa. He will sell veggies to area restaurants and through Dogpatch Urban Gardens in Des Moines.

In addition to getting Middlebrook's town farm up and running, the development group is focused on bringing the agrihood feel to Great Western Crossing, the 140-acre, $112 million project already under construction just east of Cumming.

Middlebrook and Great Western Crossing will offer a broad mix of apartments, condos and townhomes, as well as cottage, family and estate homes.

Developers behind central Iowa's first agrihood, called Middlebrook, are focused on building out its "town farm." It's the anchor to the development that's designed to be easily walkable and bikeable.

They’ll range in price from $150,000 to $800,000, the developer says.

The group will use similar architecture — Cape Cod cottage, Hampton and modern, and traditional farmhouse styles — to connect the projects.

"We're putting together a landscaping plan so we know what the parks will look like, what the common area landscaping looks like," he said. "You won't see a difference between the developments in 10 years."

Bruere said homebuyer response to the two developments has been overwhelming, with a waiting list already building.

Over a decade, the two developments will push Cumming's population of 400 to about 2,000.

Fillius said he's excited about building the Middlebrook farm.

"I moved to Iowa because I saw the organic market is burgeoning here," said Fillius, a native Californian. "It's still growing."

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457. 

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