U.S. Department of Commerce EDA_Dennis Alvord LetterUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
t Economic Development Administration
Washington, D.C. 20230
~~ ~
J G~ P~ 1 7 200J
Ms Teri Goodmann
Assistant City Manager
City of Dubuque, Iowa
50 West 13`" Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
Dear Ms. Goodmann:
On behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development
Administration (EDA), I am pleased to inform you that the city of Dubuque, Iowa, is the
winner of the EDA Excellence in Economic Development Awards 2009 in the category
of Excellence in Historic Preservation-Led Strategies. EDA is proud to honor your
achievement.
The Excellence Awards program offers EDA opportunities to encourage the
principles that promote a healthy and growing national economy through investments that
support innovation, entrepreneurship and a regional approach to address the challenges
and opportunities of the 21St century. We will soon be in touch to discuss venues for
sharing your success story with economic development professionals across the country.
I extend my sincere congratulations to the city of Dubuque on its selection as a
winner of the EDA Excellence in Economic Development Awards 2009. If you have any
questions, please contact Ms. Angela Ewell-Madison, Senior Legislative Affairs
Specialist, at 202-482-2900.
Sincerely,
Dennis Alvord
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development
and Chief Operating Officer
The entry is market-based and results driven.
Dubuque is a community that embraces and creates its own history. In the 1980s
Dubuque was a city experiencing difficult times. In January 1982 Dubuque's
unemployment was 23%. The city had lost 7.8% of its population between 1980 and
1990, had no four-lane connections, had one antiquated analog phone switch, property
tax rate had reached $14.58 per thousand and the average value of a home fell 9%.
However, community leaders from the private and public sectors came together in what
was the first of four visioning efforts over the past 20 years that helped change
Dubuque. Local leaders focused on grassroots efforts to address downtown
redevelopment and industrial expansion. They created Greater Dubuque Development
Corporation which helped lead the way to investment in Dubuque Industrial Center
(DIC) and DIC West. Industrial and technology parks which ultimately provided for the
expansion and recruitment of over 25 companies that provide more than 1,700 jobs
combined and the parks continue to grow and add businesses.
In 1985, Dubuque Main Street became one of the first of six pilot Urban Main Street
programs in the country. The mission of this grassroots organization was to aid in the
redevelopment of downtown. At the time it was created, downtown Dubuque was
experiencing a first floor vacancy rate of over 55%. Today, the story of our revitalization
is truly outstanding. With public and private investments in our historic downtown
nearing $300 million, the first floor vacancy rate is 10% and there are now over 7,000
people working in downtown thanks to the transformation and sensitive restoration of
our many historic, masonry structures. Dubuque Main Street is the longest-running
Urban Main Street program in the country and our success continues to be a model for
other communities. Dubuque became the first recipient of the Great American Main
Street Award given by the National Main Street Center in 1995.
In 1990s the Dubuque began a new visioning process, called Vision 2000. Over 5,000
area citizens participated in the community planning process in 1991 and 1992. The
product, a shared vision statement for the tri-state area, served as a guide to community
decision making and long-range planning. The City of Dubuque Comprehensive Plan
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built on Vision 2000 with policies, goals and objectives for physical, economic and social
aspects of the community.
In 2000, the malaise which struck many similar cities in the second half of the 20th
Century also managed to affect our community, but forward-thinking community leaders
found many ways to turn the city around. The most obvious success story was
transforming the old industrial riverfront into a vibrant and exciting area for tourism and
conventions. America's River project transformed 90 acres of brownfield property at the
Port of Dubuque into a destination that captures the historical, environmental,
educational and recreational majesty of the Mississippi River. Reclaiming riverfront
property for mixed-use development and creating a place where residents and guests
could reconnect with the river were the goals of the America's River project. This project
transformed and renewed our community and has inspired a $200 million phase II as
well as development in the downtown and Historic Millwork districts.
In early 2005, community leaders again asked "What's next?" As Mayor Roy Buol
stated upon his election as Mayor in 2005, "The next five years will define the next 50
for Dubuque." But what did the next five years hold? Sensing the need to engage more
young, diverse professionals in civic life it was time for a new vision -one in which the
greater Dubuque community could embrace and take ownership. The result was
Envision 2010 (Envision: Ten Community Projects by 2010) a community dialog to
identify and create 10 projects that would engage citizens and visitors alike. For most it
meant a place that has diverse, cultural and economic vitality accessible to all. In total,
this process generated over 2,000 ideas submitted by somewhere between 10,000 and
15,000 people. Out of it was born the Historic Millwork District, a historic district
redevelopment modeled after our successful downtown redevelopment strategy, which
would serve in part as a workforce recruitment strategy.
The development of the District is one of many reasons IBM chose Dubuque in 2008.
Like other businesses that have relocated to or expanded in Dubuque recently, they
have not happened upon this thriving river community by accident. Business
development in Dubuque is a result of over 25 years of strategic planning and
partnership between the community's leaders. Additionally, businesses like IBM share
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the city's vision of growing as sustainable community that values and builds upon our
rich history.
In late 2005, the Iowa Department of Economic Development released the results of the
Battelle Memorial Institute's study analyzing the current state of the Information
Technology (IT) industry in Iowa and identifying the path for success in the future.
The Battelle study found that Iowa's IT base is differentiated from others by:
• its customer base in finance and insurance, biosciences and advanced
manufacturing industries;
• its research university strengths in producing IT graduates and being nationally
competitive in IT research; and
• its strong IT services industry which offers value-added services as well as
design support and solutions.
The report suggested Iowa focus on specialized IT applications for the finance and
insurance industries, radio frequency (wireless) technology, advanced visualization and
human-computer interaction systems, and high reliability ruggedized systems.
Five overarching strategies for developing the IT industry in Iowa are identified:
Strategy 1: Increase research and development, and technology relationships between
the IT industry and Iowa Universities;
Strategy 2: Increase small firm linkages with larger user firms;
Strategy 3: Address capital gaps and barriers to business development of IT industry;
Strategy 4: Retain, attract, and develop the IT workforce; and
Strategy 5: Raise the profile of Iowa as a specialized technology state.
Iowa has been experiencing the gradual out-migration of young, college educated
individuals, a trend sometimes called brain drain, for the past ten years. In October
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2006, the Iowa Civic Analysis Network of the University of Iowa completed a study
analyzing brain drain in Iowa as compared to the nation's other states and found that
significant factors contributing to Iowa's brain drain included more job opportunities with
higher wages outside of the state and the national trend toward urbanization. Young
educated people tend to be moving to cities, while young people without a college
education tend to be moving to rural areas. This suggests that the rural nature of Iowa is
one reason why the state is experiencing brain drain. In fact, Iowa experienced the
second highest net out-migration rate of young, single, and college educated residents
(only behind North Dakota) from 1995 to 2000.
Iowa Workforce Development's 2007 Iowa College Student Survey found that 76.9% of
responding students studying the field of IT were leaning toward staying in the state if
they had job opportunities, competitive wages, benefits, and career advancement
opportunities. The majority of the respondents were between the ages of 16 and 25,
and only a little over half of them believed that Iowa had job opportunities which
interested them.
Despite these concerns, Dubuque has been ahead of the curve. In 2006 we accounted
for 18% of all job growth in the state of Iowa despite having 3% of the total state
population. Key to our success -redevelopment of our urban core! As indicated,
Iowa's brain drain is a direct result of young employees looking to live and work in
unique, often historic, buildings. These are the very same buildings that have been
sensitively restored with the past and future in mind all along Dubuque's Main Street.
From the redevelopment of the former Weber Paper Company building in Historic Old
Main as a retail and officer venue to the phenomenal redevelopment of nearly 2-blocks
of Upper Main Street district to include 11 historic storefronts and over thirty-two
sensitively restored downtown worker housing units, Dubuque has developed a
successful formula. Give employees a chance to live in a cool space in downtown, work
in a cool space in downtown and have access to cultural amenities and they will come,
and with them employers.
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Projects such as IBM's new Technology Service Delivery Center in Dubuque, Iowa,
bringing 1,300 IT jobs to a community of just under 60,000 people, don't happen
overnight. And though the search and negotiations may take place over a period of
several months, the groundwork for making a community the right choice requires
inspirational leadership with a unified vision, engaged and committed participants, and
an open and inviting community -all of which is developed over a period of several
years.
Fortunately, the leaders in Dubuque, Iowa, realized a need to move the community
forward. In 2002, Greater Dubuque Development's River Valley Initiative was
implemented, aiming to create 5,100 new jobs by the end of 2007 along with $200
million in new commercial construction during that same time period. More than 100
leaders and corporations joined together to invest $2.3 million to reach those lofty goals.
By December 2006, more than a year ahead of schedule, both objectives had been
turned into reality.
The partnership between the city of Dubuque and key organizations such as Dubuque
Main Street have helped us leverage redevelopment activity in downtown during this
same timeframe. Nearly 50% of all historic building rehabilitation, public improvements,
facade renovation and job growth monitored by DMS since 1985 have happened since
2001. The city of Dubuque has partnered with the private sector to create revolving loan
funds that have leveraged million of dollars to simultaneously restore buildings and
create jobs and downtown housing. The City of Dubuque has executed over 25
development agreements in the past three years and awarded over $4 million in
revolving loan funds since that program started to promote economic development
within the context of historic preservation in downtown Dubuque.
Dubuque's success did not go unnoticed. Rankings and accolades were awarded by
various groups at a quick pace. The May 2005 issue of Inc. Magazine showed Dubuque
with the single largest gain in the entire country, surging 177 spots from the previous
year on the magazine's list of "Best Cities to Do Business in America." The Des Moines
Register reported that Dubuque bested all Iowa cities in job growth between 2003 and
s
2006. But success does not end with success; it is merely the catalyst to begin a new
quest toward greater success.
The year 2007 became another banner year in our quest to move Dubuque forward.
Greater Dubuque Development launched Destination for Opportunity, a new five-year
journey to create 5,500 new jobs, achieve $16.00+ wage levels, complete $300 million
in new commercial construction, and grow the Dubuque County population by 6%.
An activity of Greater Dubuque Development, InfoAction was created to provide
ongoing, systematic communication with existing businesses. Since its launch nine
years ago, Greater Dubuque Development has executed 1,315 one-to-one
meetings/surveys with business owners/CEOs. Through InfoAction Greater Dubuque
Development staff is able to gauge opportunities, challenges, strengths and
weaknesses to help move Dubuque's economy forward. Greater Dubuque Development
staff provides real, concrete solutions and services for both challenges and
opportunities. Service has been provided on literally hundreds of occasions for issues
large and small, and Greater Dubuque Development helps shape the big picture:
• training programs have been established;
• zoning policies have been changed;
• public policy has been shaped or changed;
• infrastructure has been upgraded;
• transportation concerns have been addressed;
• communication with media and message discipline have been enhanced;
and
• area supply chain has been promoted to outside businesses.
In March 2009, Greater Dubuque Development was informed that their InfoAction
program was selected as the top Multi-Community/Regional (population 50,000 to
100,000) Business Retention and Expansion program in North America by Business
Retention and Expansion International.
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Of even greater importance is the contribution that InfoAction has made in helping us
implement the vision and priorities adopted by the city of Dubuque. Vision and priorities
that included implementation of the Downtown Masterplan which identified key areas
including: Commerce; Culture, Education and Entertainment; Public Space and Open
Areas; Historical Features; Residential Development; and Transportation all of which
contribute to a vibrant downtown that employs over 7,000 people daily.
The IBM project is bringing 1,300 higher-quality, higher-skilled, and higher-wage jobs to
downtown Dubuque. With an annual payroll of nearly $60 million for the Dubuque
facility, the all-around economy will benefit enormously. The opportunities that they will
create for small businesses and large businesses, and the technology and service
industries, in our downtown and throughout the community are endless.
The groundwork had been laid. The IBM project didn't just happen. Rather it was the
culmination of over ten years of great effort and investment, strategic investment in our
historic urban core, community-wide vision, partnerships across the public and private
sectors, and old-fashioned commitment and determination. Dubuque has and continues
to poise itself to be prepared for growth in the Information Technology sector. Our
efforts have garnered us success and have garnered the State and the Country with a
successful model for community change.
The entry has strong organizational leadership.
The IBM project required a cohesive effort from players across the board. The initial
contact regarding the project came through Greater Dubuque Development Corp.
(GDDC), who shepherded the project throughout. The successful execution of this
project, however, required significant input and commitment from local, state, and
federal leaders.
• The Iowa Department of Economic Development and Iowa Governor Chet
Culver's office
• The City of Dubuque
• Dubuque Initiatives
• Greater Dubuque Development Corp.
• Iowa Workforce Development
• Area college and university presidents and chancellors
• Local financial institutions
When GDDC became aware that IBM was considering a location in Dubuque, they
immediately immersed themselves in researching the corporate culture of IBM. Two
initiatives immediately came to attention: IBM's commitment to green, sustainable
practices and their corporate philosophy of `aggressive innovation.' Considering the fact
that Dubuque leadership was committed to sustainability and our experience with
`aggressive innovation' to create change, we knew that we were well-equipped to
sustain IBM's corporate culture and that both initiatives would have strong impacts on
the success of the project. Furthermore, we knew that the delivery of a product in the
redevelopment of the Roshek Building, a historic former department store in the heart of
downtown, would speak directly to the company's vision for a sustainable project both
for its employees and its facility.
Since May 2006, the city of Dubuque has identified being a Sustainable City as one of
our top priorities. Our model goes beyond the traditional approach of tackling
environmental integrity and also challenges us to balance this with economic prosperity
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and social/cultural vibrancy. We recognize that when be balance the priorities of all
three pieces of our effort, we have a model that creates a viable, livable and equitable
community, whether that "community" is a business park or downtown urban core, a
residential neighborhood, a park or natural ecosystem or the entire city of Dubuque.
At the heart of our model is the idea that we must look at our built environment as part
of the solution and that sustainability and historic preservation are not two, mutually
exclusive approaches, but rather that historic preservation is sustainability. The most
sustainable building is one that is already built and our commitment to preserving our
sense of place is exhibited in the policies created by our city leaders. Today Dubuque
boasts some of the oldest historic, urban districts in the State of Iowa that have been
adapted to meet the needs of a 21St century employer.
A Brookings Institution report projects that, by 2030, the U.S. will have demolished and
replaced 82 billion square feet of our current building stock, or nearly one-third of our
existing buildings, largely because the vast majority of them were not designed and built
to last any longer. This is a significant loss of embodied energy and history that can
never be recaptured. This loss of building creates a negative environmental impact and
destroys part of the community's sense of place, its identity. Lastly, it destroys
opportunity. By converting buildings into multi-use structures containing businesses,
restaurants, shops, recreation and residences, our district's most significant buildings
will be preserved and reused. Preserving these existing buildings is critical to retaining a
community's character and its economic competitive edge.
In addition, through our practice of historic preservation and restoration, we have been
the stewards of creating a local green collar economy. Historic preservation in and of
itself is the purest form of sustainability and is the heart of a green collar job base.
Renovation of historic neighborhoods takes less energy than building new. Preserving
and continuing to use existing buildings means that less raw land and historic
landscapes are consumed for growth. Green collar jobs are created through the
restoration of existing structure where nearly 60% of the cost is for local labor, not
materials that are imported into a community.
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Our model is synergistic with IBM, which includes in their evaluation of projects the
impact on people, planet and profit. IBM embraced Dubuque's sustainable
community initiative and selected the historic Roshek Building as the site of its
first IBM service center to be located in the United States this decade. In doing so,
they passed up many other opportunities, including an new, move-in ready building in
North Carolina, an indicator that the private and public sector together see the value in
preserving our historic beginnings as we look towards a new, technology-based future.
`Aggressive innovation' would become more important to the project than initially
realized. In identifying the work that was needed to make the historic Roshek Building a
suitable location for the project, while knowing that IBM did not care to own a building,
Dubuque Initiatives stepped up to the plate. As anon-profit group dedicated toward
advancing the Dubuque economy and businesses as well as their willingness to take on
projects that the private sector might reject, Dubuque Initiatives agreed to purchase the
building. Backed by a loan pool from local financial institutions, Dubuque Initiatives set
the ball in motion: agreeing to buy the building with a plan in hand to hire a developer
who has managed successful historic restoration projects in the past; renovate the
building, in a sustainable fashion, to meet the needs of IBM; achieve their `green'
standards through an Energy Star level of efficiency while retaining the historic
character of this anchor on the downtown skyline.
The `aggressive innovation' did not end there, however; the building was only one piece
to a very large puzzle. How could we best communicate to IBM that Dubuque would be
a great fit for their organization?
Workforce is a key issue in any project; proving we had the human capital to provide a
quality workforce of 1,300 to IBM was of utmost importance in this project. With Iowa
Workforce Development's dedicated assistance, we were able to showcase nearly
24,000 persons currently employed in IT fields in a 90-mile radius of Dubuque. Labor
market information was provided, including wage and benefit information. Because of
the resources of www.accessdubuguejobs.com (an affiliate program initiated by GDDC
in 1997) and www.iowajobs.org, over 600 resumes were provided to the human
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resources staff on their first fact-finding visit to Dubuque. The result? Overwhelmingly
positive and a renewed impression that Dubuque is a can-do community!
Education is extremely important to the IBM corporate philosophy. Other communities
being considered for this project housed major universities; Iowa's closest state
university is 90 miles from Dubuque. How could this small, Midwest river town, like so
many others across the country demonstrate that, although we were not home to a
large state university, we had ample, quality educational opportunities? Who better to
demonstrate and discuss the capabilities of our fine area higher-education institutes
than those who know them best -their presidents and chancellors! On three
unprecedented, separate occasions, the presidents and chancellors came together to
host dinners for the visiting teams from IBM where they could showcase their
institutions and commitment to the IT fields. In fact, each visiting IBMer had access to
one or more of the presidents/chancellors on multiple occasions so they could
communicate one-on-one. The result? Great relationships that are already leading
toward partnerships between the schools and IBM and expanded opportunities for
growth in the near future.
The State of Iowa's Department of Economic Development and Governor Chet Culver
certainly stepped up to the plate with their own `aggressive innovation.' Putting together
an attractive incentive package, it was clearly demonstrated to IBM that the State of
Iowa sincerely wanted IBM in their corporate population. Department staff traveled to
Dubuque for each meeting with IBM representatives, and Governor Culver joined in the
dinner during one of the delegation's trips to Dubuque so he could personally deliver the
state's warm welcome. The result? A positive understanding of the state's commitment
to this project.
This strong coordinated leadership was one of the key reasons IBM finally chose
Dubuque as their newest home. When Joe Dzaluk, Vice President of Global
Infrastructure and Resource Management for IBM Global Technology Services called to
tell the group that IBM had selected Dubuque, he mentioned defining factors of the
decision, including the following:
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• strong relationships between businesses, government, and others;
• the city's many rankings, awards, accolades, showing that the rest of the
world has acknowledged our hard work and successes;
• professional attitudes and partnership of involved parties, representing all
sectors of the community; and
• the impressive Midwestern work ethic and the can-do attitude and skills of
our workforce and leaders.
These are the very same factors that have helped Dubuque create change time and
time again while staying true to our roots. They are the factors that have renewed our
community and have made believers of our citizens. These factors make up our model
and when delivered with the vision and passion from our local leaders, are a model that
can be replicated in any business, neighborhood or community of any size!
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The entry advances productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
As mentioned above, success in our community didn't happen overnight. Our success
was the result of deliberate, strategic visioning centered around the heart of our
community -our historic downtown. Since 1985, downtown development has evolved
and has created a climate for us to "test" new ideas, projects and strategies. It was first
in downtown that our strong financial and insurance industry grew and helped to
diversify our employment base. It was first in downtown that we created a concentration
of cultural amenities to help "drive" economic realities by providing options for
employees during the lunch hours, after works hours and weekend. It was also first in
downtown that we tested the idea of affordable, workforce housing to create the synergy
of a 24/7 live work play district. The innovation that has transcended all of this? The
fact that we have achieved this success by using our historic fabric. Rather than
remove these structures from our downtown core, we have embraced them and made
them centers of technology and growth that have allowed local business to prosper and
create a desirability for new companies to locate here.
Recognizing this, the city of Dubuque partnered with DMS and the State of Iowa to
develop the Downtown Master Plan. This would become the key tool to drive economic
development in our city center. The Downtown Master Plan resulted from two "Housing
Summits." The summits were community-wide discussions bringing together a variety
of stakeholder groups with concerns about the condition of downtown housing.
Participants quickly realized that addressing housing issues in the downtown required a
larger view -looking at associated challenges like transportation and open spaces,
delivery of city services, employment opportunities and entertainment. The Downtown
Master Plan was crafted through a four year process that included over 2,000
individuals involved in community meetings, a citizen questionnaire, reactor group
session, and validation survey. In 2004, the City Council approved the Downtown
Dubuque Master Plan that was born from this process.
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This plan which has successfully guided for five years, has six elements of downtown
revitalization that incorporates a "live, work and play" spirit, each representing a major
focus of activity. The six elements are:
• Commerce
• Culture, Education and Entertainment
• Public Space and Open Areas
• Historical Features
• Residential Development
• Transportation
The Downtown Master Plan also includes a special section on the importance and
opportunity to develop the Historic Millwork District as an economic commodity for our
community. This entire process included interviews with downtown stakeholders, focus
groups, a planning retreat, a questionnaire, analysis of prevailing market conditions,
identification of opportunity sites for investment, preparation of demand estimates for
various land use products, and examination of development economics. Conclusions
were then drawn regarding downtown's role in the community, investment opportunities
available to the market in the near-and mid-term, and barriers to investment.
Recommended actions for change, along with guiding principles, provided the
foundation for implementation. This inclusive downtown planning process yielded a
comprehensive implementation blueprint that continues to guide the revitalization of our
downtown.
Since its adoption, a standing committee composed of City staff and representatives of
Dubuque Main Street, Dubuque Initiatives, The Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce,
GDDC, ECIA and other downtown stakeholder organizations, meets periodically to
monitor progress on the implementation of the Downtown Master Plan. At these regular
meetings, the group works together to track progress made and to identify any
roadblocks to success both for individual businesses and the community as a whole.
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The group collaborates to eliminate these roadblocks and to ensure that progress
continues to be made.
To sustain the plan, the City Council continues to identify implementation of the
Downtown Master Plan on its annual list of Major Projects and Initiatives. The City has
budgeted funds for projects and programs that implement action steps in the six
elements. The City's commitment leverages federal, state, and private investment in
revitalizing downtown.
Dubuque continues to rank #1 among Iowa Main Street communities for economic
development, preservation, public improvements and job growth. Dubuque has created
25% of jobs, 21 % building rehabilitation and 45% of real estate sales of the entire Iowa
Main Street program. But this is just one piece of our success. We knew we had a story
to share with others about how to create a sense of place that businesses would desire;
we just needed to put together a strategy to share it and increase our ability to retain
and expand our workforce.
One of GDDC's key strategies is Workforce Retention and Recruitment. Retention and
Recruitment lie at the heart of GDDC commitment to meet employer needs in the
community. An active and extensive marketing campaign includes the promotion of
www.accessdubuguejobs.com, an industry tool to promote job opportunities that exist in
the Greater Dubuque area. With job opportunity information from nearly 100 area
employers, www.accessdubuauejobs.com outperforms other national job search
websites, including www.monster.com, by a margin of 2:1 for employment searches,
employer participation, penetration and success in the tri-state market.
This tool was highlighted and demonstrated to IBM human resources officials during
their fact-finding visits to Dubuque. They were very pleased with the sophisticated
technology behind the site, and saw this as yet another tool from GDDC to help local
business, in this case IBM, enhance their employee recruitment efforts. Since the
January 15, 2009, announcement of IBM's selection of Dubuque, nearly aquarter-
million visitors have viewed the www.accessdubuguejobs.com site, viewing over 1.27
million pages. Accessdubuquejobs.com showcases our community's ability to connect
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people to opportunity thru sophisticated technology - a key theme that came from
Battelle Memorial Institute's study commissioned by the State of Iowa. Through
Accessdubuquejobs.com, Dubuque is also helping support the state of Iowa in its
endeavor to be the IT State for the next century!
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The entry looks beyond the immediate economic horizon, anticipates economic
changes and diversifies the local and regional economy.
The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy prepared by the East Central
Intergovernmental Association includes activities within the city of Dubuque and looks to
the future impact our community can have on the surrounding region. The strategy
identifies significant industry clusters in Business Services, Construction Materials,
Distribution, Financial Services, Motor Driven Products, and Printing/Publishing. The
location quotient, an indicator used to identify growth potential, identifies a strong
opportunity for growth in the Information Technology industry in the Dubuque area. An
identified goal of the current Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy is to
expand the economic segments in the region, including the location and expansion of
technology-related industries.
Dubuque is helping to reach this growth opportunity with the infusion of 1,300
Information Technology positions with IBM while creating a more diversified local and
regional economy. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, two of the ten
fastest growing jobs for 2004-2014 come from the Information Technology field are
networks systems analysts and computer software engineers. It is no coincidence that
employees and employers in the technology field gravitate toward dynamic, culturally
rich environments -the kind of environment we have created in historic, downtown
Dubuque. With the strategic recruitment of IBM into the Dubuque economy, we believe
we captured the opportunity for additional technology growth in Dubuque, specifically in
the downtown. However, this opportunity for growth does not stop with technology. An
infusion of 1,300 families will impact growth in other related areas: housing, population,
education, arts and supporting industries.
With nearly 5,000 job applications already received from across the country for this
project, it is clear that an influx of people from outside the area is inevitable. Newcomers
to the area will have a demand for products and services -some already provided
locally, but in amounts greater than our local providers have seen in recent years, while
others present opportunities for expansion of products and services not previously
1~
offered. It is expected that the 'ripple effect' will positively impact businesses from the
local florists and artists to the furniture and grocery stores to the car dealerships to the
dry cleaners. It is estimated that the annual payroll from the Dubuque IBM facility will
approach $60 million. That's over $1 million per week infused into the local economy.
GDDC sees this influx of people and this great number of new jobs as a way to leverage
opportunities for other companies considering a location in the Dubuque area. While the
natural reaction may be that since 1,300 people are now going to be employed by a
large corporation there may not be a sufficient workforce remaining available, the reality
of the situation is that this can create added workforce! Many of the newcomers to the
community will also be bringing a spouse or significant other, many of whom will be
seeking employment. Newcomers bring the advantage of "selling" Dubuque and
employment opportunities to friends and fellow college graduates. With this in mind,
GDDC will continue to refine our recruitment and retention campaign to leverage
opportunities other local businesses from this single project! For example, there is great
opportunity for ahigh-end manufacturer to take advantage of this infusion of people into
the community who may be bringing a CNC Operator or an Electrical Engineer along
with them. Additionally, the positive spotlight that has been cast upon Dubuque since
the IBM announcement has increased the visibility and awareness of Dubuque across
the country and has positively enhanced the knowledge of opportunity that exists in the
area.
Beyond the immediate economic horizon, this bodes well for the future of continued
growth for Dubuque. This project has put Dubuque `on the map' with other major
players in today's economy. The fact that IBM chose Dubuque speaks volumes to other
Fortune 500 companies. While existing industry clusters continue to be supported, this
opens opportunities for emerging clusters to develop and new economic drivers to be
attracted.
The population in the Dubuque area is the oldest among the major metropolitan areas in
Iowa, and college graduate retention in the state is considered one of the state biggest
workforce retention issues. As indicated earlier, the Iowa Civic Analysis Network of the
is
University of Iowa completed a study analyzing brain drain in Iowa and found that
significant factors contributing to Iowa's brain drain included more job opportunities with
higher wages outside of the state and the national trend toward urbanization. Young
educated people tend to be moving to cities. Additionally, Iowa Workforce
Development's 2007 Iowa College Student Survey found that over 75% of responding
students studying the field of IT were leaning toward staying in the state if they had
opportunities for employment and personal growth. With IBM's commitment to hiring
1,300 people, we know that a significant number of these candidates will be recruited as
they graduate from the area's colleges and universities.
Another identified goal of the current Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
is to facilitate the improvement and maintenance of the housing stock and housing
supply in the region, including encouraging the construction of affordable housing units.
This younger, more dynamic population brings its own needs and expectations, such as
affordable work force housing near the downtown area. Today's graduates are
technologically and globally savvy. They identify with the creative class of "artists"
whether they are engineers, computer technicians, teachers or potters. They make
selective choices in giving back to community, locating in cool-urban housing, seeking
out a variety of cultural/entertainment venues and engage in social exchanges on-line
and on the street. The entrepreneurial potential for property owners, local retailers and
non-profit cultural entities are ripe for opportunity with these young IBMers. The
redevelopment of the Historic Millwork District and urban style housing on the upper
levels of Main Street buildings is a comprehensive revitalization strategy that will create
a 24/7 live work play experience in the heart of downtown.
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The entry demonstrates a high degree of commitment.
In 2005 Mayor Roy Buol stated, "The next five years will define the next 50 for
Dubuque." As we near the five-year mark since those words, we see how the
revitalization of the downtown and the introduction of IBM into our community would not
have been possible without the strong partnerships that Dubuque has become
recognized for. Commitment from the Dubuque City Council, nonprofit and business
community, and state, regional, and federal leaders' support, has lead to innovative
economic development strategies and an economy poised to sustain itself for years to
come.
The City's 2024 vision identifies the value of partnerships and summarizes the goal we
continuously strive for:
"The City of Dubuque is a progressive, sustainable city with a strong diversified
economy and expanding global connections; the Dubuque community is an inclusive
community celebrating culture and heritage and has actively preserved our
Masterpiece on the Mississippi; Dubuque citizens experience healthy living and
active retirement through quality, livable neighborhoods and an abundance of fun
things to do and they are engaged in the community, achieving goals through
partnerships; and Dubuque City government is financially sound and providing
services with citizens getting value for their tax dollars."
This vision has been embraced by the community not as a vision of elected leadership,
but as a unified vision of the people of Dubuque. This success has been achieved
because of multiple initiatives to involve the entire community-business and school
leaders, residents, non-profit organizations, visitors-in the discussion about what they
want their city to be. In 2004, the City adopted the Downtown Master Plan. This
visioning document identified the priority of saving and revitalizing the buildings, people
and atmosphere that make the downtown the heart of our city.
In 2005, the Envision 2010 process brought together over 12,000 people who submitted
over 2,000 ideas about what they wanted the future of greater Dubuque to look like.
The grassroots vision captured the energy that had begun to bring back the city from
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the dismal economic times experienced in the early 1980's in Dubuque. The process
identified the top ten projects that would give Dubuque an identity as a diverse, cultural
and economically vital place accessible to all. Many of these projects have been
completed, and the others continue to have community champions working toward their
achievement.
These broad visioning processes recognize the community's commitment to its holistic
success, acknowledging that economic success is not possible without social diversity,
that connected, livable neighborhoods are not successful without a thriving service
economy, that community growth is not achievable without strong leadership. Since
2006, this holistic approach has been embodied in the City Council's top priority to
become a more Sustainable Community. A diverse group of citizens and business
leaders made up a task force that has defined what sustainability means to Dubuque: a
viable, livable, and equitable community. We recognize that sustainability is not only
about environmental integrity, but is equally about economic prosperity and social
cultural vibrancy. This commitment is one of the core beliefs that drew IBM to Dubuque.
Dubuque's commitment to becoming a more sustainable community is embodied in
eleven principles, which include a regional economy, green buildings, smart energy use,
and community design. Through partnerships with national organizations including the
National Trust for Historic Preservation, the city has embraced historic preservation as a
vital component of sustainability, believing that the most sustainable building is one that
is already built. It makes sense, then, that our commitment to the revitalization of
historic structures in our downtown, which has been in progress for many years, would
become one of the key strategies in our sustainability movement.
In 1985, Dubuque became one of the first of six pilot Urban Main Street programs in the
nation. The mission of this grassroots organization was to aid in the redevelopment of
downtown. At the time it was created, downtown Dubuque was experiencing a first floor
vacancy rate of over 55%. Today, the story of our revitalization is truly outstanding.
Public and private investments were nearing $300 million before IBM announced it
would be locating in the historic Roshek Building, first floor vacancy rate is now 10%
and there has been a net gain of 7,000 jobs.
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Then IBM came to town. For all the reasons noted above, this move will invigorate our
economy and create jobs, but it will also bring new use to a nine story, 250,000+ square
foot building in the heart of Dubuque's downtown. It will create new opportunities for
businesses that already call Dubuque home, and invite additional companies to locate
here. It will introduce a new audience to the revitalization of the Historic Millwork
District, a neighborhood of buildings that began as nationally-recognized millwork
companies, transitioned to become massive warehouses that later sat empty, and is
quickly becoming a community gathering place to live, work, and play in.
These strategic decisions-economic revitalization, downtown redevelopment,
sustainability initiatives-could not be achieved by any one organization alone.
Attracting IBM to Dubuque is one of the great projects that the City has achieved in
partnership with the private and nonprofit sectors, local college, and state, regional, and
federal leaders.
The recruitment process was a collaborative effort in a long line of many collaborations
between the City, GDDC, Dubuque Initiatives, local banks, tri-state colleges, business
representatives, state economic development and elected officials, national partners,
and local non-profits. IBM identified their desire to locate in the historic Roshek
Building, a move that embodied both the city's and the company's dedication to historic
preservation and sustainability. But in order for that move to be successful, Dubuque
organizations would have to partner on a whole new level to renovate the building and
bring a multitude of new opportunities to the community.
The renovation was too large for IBM to take on by themselves, and too large for any
one Dubuque organization to spearhead. Past partnerships of economic development
organizations such as the City's Economic Development Department, GDDC, the
Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, Dubuque Main Street, East Central
Intergovernmental Agency, Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business
Accelerator, and many others had established strong communication paths and
community vision, and laid the groundwork for this project. This history of partnerships
was noted by IBM executives as the one of the ultimate competitive advantages
Dubuque has, and will continue to have, as they attract new businesses to the region.
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Leaders of these organizations and local businesses make up the board of Dubuque
Initiatives, Inc. DI is a sustainable, non-profit organization working as a community
partner to undertake challenging projects that require broad-based public and financial
support. Leaders recognize the value of these projects which may not otherwise be
possible, as they involve job creation and community revitalization that improve the
quality of life for all Dubuque citizens.
Included in the economic development package that secured IBM's move to Dubuque
was the stipulation that Dubuque Initiatives will rehabilitate the Roshek Building at an
estimated cost of $39 million. The City, in a first of its kind agreement, partnered with a
consortium of locally-owned banks to leverage public credit and private dollars to make
this project viable.
Understanding the unique challenges of bringing 1,300 employees to a downtown
campus is an extremely short time frame, Dubuque organizations have also offered a
variety of services to create cone-stop concierge service for IBM leadership and new
employees. GDDC, Alliant Energy, and Black Hills Energy have proposed various
incentives totaling $52,500 collectively. The City is coordinating with IBM on a daily
basis to address concerns that must be addressed in order for business to begin in July.
This includes addressing the critical need of providing parking for over 1,000 new
employees, a need that the City hopes to address by constructing a new, energy
efficient and alternative energy-friendly parking ramp with the assistance of the EDA.
Dubuque Works, a joint effort of various agencies, was also created. The program will
continue beyond the implementation of the IBM project, and will provide workforce
development services, including recruitment and retention, and serve as a "welcome
wagon" for newcomers relocating to Dubuque.
Local leaders could not offer the development tools they have, however, without the
dedication of our state and federal elected and appointed officials to our regional
economy. Governor Chet Culver, understanding the vision of Iowans to retain the
knowledge and talent of our youth and grow the technology industry, was a key player
in the recruitment of IBM to Dubuque. Following his lead, the Iowa Department of
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Economic Development approved the largest ever State financial assistance package of
over $12 million to IBM as an investment in their future growth in the state. Dubuque
Initiatives and the City also continue to work with our legislators to secure State and
Federal Historic Tax Credits and New Market Tax Credits, tools that are vital to the
success of this and other revitalization projects. Beyond securing these credits for the
IBM project, Dubuque leaders have become part of a statewide coalition to raise the
cap on State Historic Tax Credits, as we see recognize the importance of this tool for
developers interested in adaptive reuse of historic buildings across the state.
A renovated building to house new employees is worthless without the workforce
needed to staff it. Again, the leadership of the tri-state region identified the opportunity
for a new growth sector and is partnering to ensure that a qualified workforce is
developed and ready to fill those vacancies. The Northeast Iowa Community College is
working with IBM to provide over $8.5 million in the Iowa New Jobs Training Program.
The University of Dubuque, Loras College, Clarke College, and NICC, all of Dubuque,
University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and Kirkwood Community College, of Cedar Rapids
were all part of the conversation to identify the existing opportunities to fill IBM positions,
and continue to work with the private sector to develop innovative and sustainable
training and workforce development programs to meet the changing needs of this
sector.
Dubuque Initiatives may have played the largest non-profit role in this project to date.
But again, IBM has partnered with local non-profits to carry out their commitment to
sustainability and the preservation and reuse of historic materials whenever possible.
Currently, the landfill diversion rate of the demolition and revitalization of the Roshek
Building is over 85%. This is significant not only for the tons of material that are being
saved from the landfill, but the new place those materials are finding in Dubuque. Two
of the many non-profits that will benefit from this diversion are the Dubuque Multicultural
Family Center and Dubuque Art Center, both young organizations that will receive
deconstructed and salvaged materials from the IBM renovation. Examples such as this
make us confident that IBM has added its name to the list of many businesses that are
committed to the comprehensive community of Dubuque.
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During our 2007 application to become an All-America City, a community leader
described the reason for Dubuque's success in this way: "We're successful because
we don't care who gets the credit for something. We work together to get done what
needs to be done." Outside organizations agree, as Dubuque was named an All-
America City and has also been the recipient of numerous national awards and
recognitions in recent years including: 2008 Most Livable City in America, U.S. Top 18
Best Small Places for Business, one of 100 Best Communities for Young People (two
years), International Downtown Association Economic Development Award, the Phoenix
Award for Brownfield Redevelopment, America's Crown Communities Award, All-Star
Community Award, Urban Pioneer Award, and one of the "Top Ten Metros" with
population under 200,000.
While we take great pride in these accolades, of even greater pride is the affirmation
from citizens who are proud to call Dubuque their home. They take pride in the physical
changes they've seen, from the restored riverfront and parks, to the trail systems to the
well-maintained streets. Pride in our quality, affordable homes, public safety, open
space and educational partnerships that keep neighborhoods strong. Pride in economic
opportunities that allow individuals and families to earn a decent wage and provide for
themselves and others. Pride that we have become a stronger, more connected, more
caring, more diversified, more sustainable Dubuque!
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