CEDAR FALLS - On summertime Friday nights, Jim Paulson would fire up his gas grill and toss hot dogs and hamburger patties over the burner.

One by one, the residents of Shady Rest Motel and Apartments would spill out of their rooms, drawn to the smell of smoked meats and the promise of good conversation. Since the rerouting of U.S. Highway 218, tourists had long stopped pulling into the parking lot of 2008 Center St., leaving the rooms to be filled by long-term residents.

"Slowly but surely, we were able to build a community," said Paulson, owner of the Cedar Falls complex. "On Friday nights, we'd all come together. Everybody knew everybody. Everybody looked out for everybody else."

That close-knit clan crumbled last summer when floodwaters sloshed into North Cedar. The city declared Shady Rest a total loss, ordering Paulson to shut down. Without flood insurance or resources to rehab the blue and white building, tenants of the affordable housing facility drifted away.

But as early as this week, some residents may move back to Shady Rest. Thanks to grants from the U.S. Episcopal Church and the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa - along with labor provided by AmeriCorps workers - 15 newly refurbished units will be open by the end of August.

"I know I've seen a miracle because this place should not have been able to open up," Paulson told a group of volunteers assembled at the construction site Monday.

"It shouldn't be able to open up, but it is, because of people. People made this a miracle."

Volunteer project

At first glance, Shady Rest is a holdover from another era. Before the advent of chain hotels and four-lane freeways, America's travelers frequented mom-and-pop motels. But, as speed limits increased, business slowed for the facility and other wayside rests.

Instead of a flashing a "VACANCY" sign, Paulson and his wife Phyllis sought tenants, asking $450 a month for one-bedroom apartments and $425 for sleeping rooms.

"People who didn't have the best financial footing could have a place to call home," said Doug Peterson, who lived at the facility for about 12 years. "If you had kids, the Paulsons would try to have activities, make the place family-friendly. They checked in on people, and because there's no credit check or whatever, they gave a lot of people a second chance."

As a result, a handful of the roughly displaced 20 tenants had called the complex home for more than a decade, a fact the Rev. Maureen Doherty, of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Waverly, stumbled upon when she stopped by the facility following the flood.

"I was so overwhelmed by the damage," she said. "And then when they told me all the people who had lost homes, I thought: 'Oh, we gotta do something.'"

Doherty started by soliciting $6,000 in donations from churches in St. Andrew's eight-state diocese. But as the breadth of the project became apparent, she knew Shady Rest needed more money - and helping hands - to rebuild. In March, workers with AmeriCorps, a national service organization, signed on to provide the labor. A month later, the national Episcopal church awarded an $80,000 grant to Shady Rest, while the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa donated $10,000 to the business. Dick Wieck, a Cedar Falls Episcopalian who helped with rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina, took on project manager duties.

"Everything just fell in place," said Doherty, a fellow North Cedar resident. "And the AmeriCorps kids have been such a blessing. They're really the ones that are making this possible."

In the past few months, the volunteers have hung drywall, replaced windows and painted walls. Currently, 17 AmeriCorps workers are assigned to the project. Episcopalians from across the country have also wielded hammers during week-long service trips to Shady Rest.

As they work, the laborers learn about the flood and its effect on Paulson and his tenants. One former resident still lives in an on-site trailer.

"You don't realize how hard it's been for these people until you get out here," said Veronica O'Hern, a 22-year-old AmeriCorps worker. "Jim and Phyllis haven't had income from this place for over a year, and there's 20 people who have been out of their home for that long. When we started, there wasn't a lot to look at."

Homecoming

But structure - and hope - has now returned to Shady Rest. By the end of the summer, Paulson expects the complex, covered with a fresh coat of green paint, to be fully operational. Some of the renovated units will be handicapped-accessible, allowing him to reach out to a new clientele. And many former residents, who gathered for an Easter celebration this spring, have expressed interest in returning to the motel.

Paulson doesn't require his tenants to sign leases or put down security deposits, making his units accessible to low-income individuals. Tenants whose credit history might disqualify them for other apartments were often accepted at Shady Rest.

"Some folks stayed six or eight months, just long enough to get themselves on their feet or save up for a bigger place," said former-tenant Peterson, who moved following the flood. "But in the meantime, they had a roof over their head, a place to cook a hot meal and a neighborhood to live in."

The program director of 1650 "The Fan" KCNZ would like to return to the complex for another reason - his friendship with the Paulsons. The family took an interest in his radio career, and shared in Peterson's excitement as he rose through the ranks at the Cedar Falls station.

On Monday, Jim Paulson said connections like those are the reason he's rebuilding the facility. Soon, he'll dust off his grill and welcome friends new and old to Shady Rest's Friday night barbecues.

"This place has never been about making money," Paulson said, tears welling up in his eyes. "It's a family, and we're almost back together."