1890 Character, 2026 Mechanicals, Old Town Ames

An original fireplace with a hand-carved wooden mantel. Hardwood floors, crown molding, and built-ins that were made for this house. Then you step into the kitchen and your feet are warm. That's 821 Clark Ave: a 1.5-story National Folk home standing since 1890 in Old Town Ames, with the mechanical guts of a 2026 build. The character is authentic. The furnace, A/C, and water heater are new. That combination is rare, and it is the whole story of this listing.

Entry and Living

You come up a recently updated concrete front porch into a bright living and dining area that takes in natural light from multiple directions. The historic details are all here and all intact: hardwood floors, the original fireplace and its carved mantel, classic crown molding, and charming built-ins that give you storage without giving up wall space. Pella double-hung windows keep the room efficient without breaking the period look.

The Kitchen

This is the room people will remember. Custom soft-close cabinetry, custom spice drawers, a custom hood vent, and open shelving frame a stainless steel appliance package with a new oven as of 2026. Underneath it all: heated floors. It flows directly off the living and dining space, so whoever is cooking is still part of the conversation.

The Main-Floor Primary Suite

The primary bedroom sits on the main floor and includes a washer/dryer combo unit right in the room. Between the bedroom and its en-suite full bath is a dedicated office or den space, which gives you a real work-from-home spot without sacrificing a bedroom. There is even a built-in jewelry cabinet. Off the back of the house, an insulated 3-season porch is set up for reading, working, or doing nothing at all, and the seller is leaving the couch.

Upstairs and Down

The upper level is its own private retreat: the second bedroom, a 3/4 bathroom, and flex space that could become a walk-in closet extension, a play room, an office, or whatever you need it to be. The basement is clean, dry, and useful. Recent waterproofing and tiling to the sump pump, an active radon mitigation system, the second washer/dryer set, the tankless water heater, and the 2026 furnace and A/C all live down there.

Outdoors

The backyard is fully enclosed by a newer cedar privacy fence from 2021 and has been well cared for for years. You get a storage shed, a detached 1-stall garage with newer concrete floor, insulation, and drywall, and an Old Town Ames advantage most homes here don't have: additional private parking right off the back alley. A LeafGuard gutter system handles the mature trees, and the sewer line to the street was replaced roughly five years ago.

Why Old Town Ames

You are a few blocks from grocery, local restaurants, and the shops on historic Main Street, with Cy-Ride stops nearby. Grand Avenue is about 2 minutes out, and Iowa State University, Jack Trice Stadium, and Hilton Coliseum are all inside 10 minutes. For an owner-occupant that means walkable daily life; for an investment-minded buyer it means one of the most consistently in-demand pockets in Ames. The parcel is zoned RM, Residential Medium Density. If your plan includes any rental use, I recommend we confirm current occupancy and rental-letter requirements directly with the City of Ames before you write, and I will help you do exactly that.

Let's Look At It

This one is now under contract. Homes with intact 1890 character and 2026 mechanicals in a walk-to-Main-Street location do not come up often in Ames - which is exactly why it moved quickly. I am still taking backup offers, so if this is your kind of house, get on the list below and I will send the full disclosure packet with the numbers. If you want to look at this one as an investment, use my deal calculator and I will sanity-check your assumptions with you.