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Community makes the most of Catalyst grants
B&Bs sprout in Williamsburg
WILLIAMSBURG — The 1890 Lofts is not the first bed-and-breakfast in Williamsburg, and it won’t be the last.
Four Williamsburg property owners have received Catalyst grants from Iowa Economic Development to create Airbnb spaces, Summer Hillgas, president of the Chamber of Commerce Board, said last year.
For Mackenzie and John Galli, that journey began in December of 2020. Mackenzie calls it a COVID project.
Mackenzie, a Williamsburg native who now lives in Clive, has a strong connection to her hometown, she said. “When you’re from here, you know how special it is.”
Before becoming a Galli, Mackenzie Westcott was a four-sport athlete for the Raiders, holding 14 school records at the time she graduated in 2008, according to the Dowling Catholic Basketball Club.
She helped lead the girls basketball team to its first two state tournament appearances in school history.
Mackenzie continued her basketball career at Bradley University, earning a degree in actuarial science while there. She played for the Leicester Riders women’s team in Loughborough, England while completing her master’s degree in finance and management before moving to West Des Moines in 2014, according to DCBC.
Though she lives an hour and a half away, Mackenzie was in Williamsburg frequently to see family. With the purchase of the building at 104 W. State St., just off the city square, Mackenzie now makes the commute to contribute to the town’s economy.
“I’ve thought about trying to do property management before,” said Mackenzie. The Catalyst grant made it possible. Mackenzie could recover the cost of transforming an old, vacant building into something Williamsburg could be proud of.
Mackenzie considered buying the old fire station, she said, but someone else bought it before she could make a decision.
Then the old Mayberry Electric building came up for sale. The property was the right price, though more dilapidated than some she’d looked at. But Mackenzie thought she could turn it into something nice.
“It was not fun,” Mackenzie confessed. She worked all week at Athene in West Des Moines and then drove to Williamsburg to work on the building. It was time consuming and stressful, she said.
Mackenzie wasn’t sure what to do with the first floor of the building. She thought about turning it into a small event space.
Then Joslyn Hawkins of Bloom made a proposal. Hawkins, who operates a food truck that serves acai, smoothies and fresh snacks, was looking for a building to occupy during the winter, and Mackenzie’s space fit the bill.
Hawkins serves customers out of her truck in the back of the building and offers yoga at the front.
Upstairs, Mackenzie kept the history of the building alive with a pair of two-bedroom suites decorated to remember International Harvester and Mayberry Electric.
The building housed a McCormick Deering dealership when it was built in 1890, said Mackenzie. McCormick Deering became International Harvester. The Harvester suite at 1890 Lofts features items related to that company.
In the 1960s, Mayberry Electric owned the building. The Mayberry room reflects that point in the building’s history and includes framed articles about Neal Huedepohl purchasing Mayberry Electric.
“We did a lot of our own work,” said Mackenzie. The couple exposed as much of the original brick walls as possible during the renovation.
They redid the roof, replaced windows and added a couple of windows in the stairwell to brighten up the space.
“It was an education,” Mackenzie said.
Mackenzie’s parents, Scott and Angie Westcott, have flipped a few properties, Mackenzie said, and they helped renovate the Lofts.
“I’m not afraid of hard work,” said Mackenzie. “I take a lot of pride in what I do.”
Restoring the brick façade was expensive, said Mackenzie. It took about 60% of the grant money.
The Gallis hired Lauren Gifford, an Iowa State University student, to paint a mural on an outside wall where double doors used to be. Now the first thing people see when they head toward the square on West State Street is not a crumbling building, but a colorful farm scene.
“I’m proud of that,” Mackenzie said.
The Gallis opened 1890 Lofts in June of 2023. “When you make a listing on Airbnb, you’d better be ready,” said Mackenzie. She was surprised at the response, but it was summer, and the height of travel season.
The Lofts are not always occupied. No one stayed during spring break.
Mackenzie rents rooms trough Airbnb, rentals.com and Verbo. Rental information is online — where to park, how to check in, where to pickup keys.
A television in the lobby gives guests weather reports and tells them what’s going on in Williamsburg.
A book in each room gives visitors information about how to adjust the heat and air conditioning, what local businesses have to offer, how to access the Wi-Fi and what amenities can be found in Williamsburg and Iowa County.
Cameras show Mackenzie when guests arrive so she can text a welcome message.
“[Fireside] Winery s a big draw,” said Mackenzie. “And the Amanas are a big draw.”
Residents of Williamsburg rent the rooms for family members coming to town for a wedding or funeral.
I-80 travelers will sometimes book a room at the last minute when they tire of driving, said Mackenzie. She’s had people book rooms only three hours in advance.
At the time the Gallis began creating their rental space, only Brickhouse Coffee Co. on the square had a bed-and-breakfast on its upper floor. Since then, the owners of Doc’s Tavern and the Farmer’s Bank building have received grants for similar projects.
Whether Williamsburg can sustain so many Airbnbs remains to be seen.
Mackenzie is optimistic. “I’m still at a point where I want to keep going,” she said.
