Economic Prosperity

Economic Prosperity includes 9 recommendations across 3 sub-categories: Employment, Housing, and Business. The bar chart below highlights the status of the 9 recommendations. Scroll down to the Recommendation Tracker for details. Status information reflects the community's work toward each recommendation.

Recommendation Highlight - Identify markets and sites for new homes #A2a

The Collective Impact Model

The Collective Impact Model is the vehicle we use to implement the plan. It relies on organizations working together in a structured way, to achieve social change. The model relies on:

A Common Agenda
Shared Measurements
Mutually Reinforcing Activities
Continuous Communication
A Strong Backbone Organization

Each of the seven categories has a Connector and every recommendation has a Coordinator or subject expert. Champions are the boots-on-the-ground; they are the programs, organizations, people, projects, events and initiatives doing the work of the plan.

Recommendation Identification

Connect With Us

A dedicated team of Dubuque residents and community partners are helping turn our city's comprehensive plan, into a reality. These coordinators, connectors, and champions are tracking progress across each of the 7 categories, 32 subcategories and 110 recommendations of Imagine Dubuque.

For information on the Economic Prosperity Category, contact Connector Jill Connors, Economic Development Director at the City of Dubuque, 563-589-4392 or jilconno@cityofdubuque.org.

For additional information on Imagine Dubuque, contact Planning Technician Jason Duba at the City of Dubuque, 563-589-4223 or jduba@cityofdubuque.org.

Tracking Definitions

Needs Resources: Recommendation implementation has not yet begun. Needs will vary and may include funding, coordination, time, and staffing. The impacts of Covid may be a root cause of resource needs, deferment, and disruption of implementation timelines.

Getting Started: Recommendation implementation is in the early stages of moving forward by way of active organizing, connecting with partners, planning and data collection, and/or a few early action items.

Underway: Recommendation implementation is moving forward, with multiple actions in motion and steady progress being made towards realizing the recommendation.

Complete / Ongoing: Recommendation implementation has been completed or is ongoing with continuity and growth in progress. Many recommendations will never be complete because ongoing focus and attention is required to maintain and further the success of each recommendation.

- Data will be updated bi-annually to align with Council Reports -

Recommendation tracker

Economic Prosperity: 9 recommendations

• Needs Resources • Getting Started • Underway • Complete/Ongoing

Employment Housing Business

Employment

RECOMMENDATIONS - AT A GLANCE

► Continue to diversify Dubuque’s economy - A1a
► Develop a ‘hyper-local’ approach to diverse talent attraction/development - A1b
► Strengthen start-up businesses and entrepreneurial programming -A1c
► Continue work of Inclusive Dubuque / enhance economic resilience -A1d

RECOMMENDATIONS - DETAILS & STATUS

Continue ongoing efforts to diversify Dubuque’s economy, including all sectors and all employment types and categories. A1a - Coordinator: Rick Dickinson, rickd@greaterdubuque.org

► Status: Underway

As America's longest-running urban Main Street program, Dubuque Main Street pivoted in 2020 to support small businesses as they struggled to navigate how to stay open, relevant and safe during the pandemic. Signage, marketing and advocacy helped local businesses shift to alternative services, like curbside delivery of not just food, but everything from books to beer.
Cottingham & Butler and Heartland Financial USA purchased the Roshek Building with plans to invest an additional $2.85 million and collectively committed to creating 32 full-time jobs.
Simmons Pet Food to purchase vacated Flexsteel Industries manufacturing plant, with plans to create 271 new full-time, living-wage jobs through 2023.
Progressive Processing, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods, announced a $13 million plan to expand their facility and add 58 new jobs.
Walter Development (HODGE) leased their existing space at Chavenelle Road to Duluth Trading Company and Crown Holdings, two new employers to Dubuque who have pledged to add a collective 116 jobs.

Convene local employers attracting talent from elsewhere and from the region, identify successes and challenges based upon local employer experiences, and develop a comprehensive ‘hyper-local’ approach to overall diverse talent attraction and development, including a local talent pipeline. A1b - Coordinator: Rick Dickinson (Interim), rickd@greaterdubuque.org

► Status: Underway

Greater Dubuque Development Corporation's InfoAction confers with 60 CEOs, while HR Action confers with human resource professionals from 300 businesses annually. Together, they aggregate data to inform business and the community.
Greater Dubuque Development Corporation's Workforce Solutions team and AccessDubuqueJobs host events to connect employers and college graduates.
DubuqueWorks is a collaborative regional partnership of 18 employers, funding partners, workforce experts, and educators. The initiative focuses on Human Capital, Skill Development and Collaboration & Evaluation.
Big Life, Small City attracts, informs and engages young people to return or stay in Dubuque.
Greater Dubuque Development's Retention Recruitment Creation strategy measures the temperature of newcomers to understand what's working (and what's not) in Dubuque.

Continue to strengthen existing start-up business and entrepreneurial programming to develop a comprehensive entrepreneurial eco-system. This system should include programs and resources, including funding, for entrepreneurs through Stage 2 growth. A1c - Coordinator: Jill Connors, jilconno@cityofdubuque.org

► Status: Getting Started

Greater Dubuque Development Corporation's Future Leadership Team explores issues and best practices in business and industry, community, non-profits, and education.
City support of the Fountain of Youth Program?
Program & Initiatives:
- Dupaco Virtual Entrepreneur Lab
- BizHub at Key City Creative Center
- Redefining Apprenticeship in Iowa - Source: HRDrive.com 12-03-2019
- Entrepreneurial Venture School? Grants of $3,500?
- Open 4 Business through Dubuque Main Street co-sponsorship financially supports innovative work in collaboration with Iowa Main Street.

Continue the current work of Inclusive Dubuque, also formulating strategies to enhance economic resiliency and mitigate the impact of economic disruptions locally. A1d - Coordinator: Paul Duster, paul@dbqfoundation.org

► Status: Ongoing

The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque's New Business Leader Equity Cohort has over 30 local CEOs providing support to emerging leaders.
Dubuque College Access Network post-secondary training & education with 50 partners. Read more about a grant supporting this effort.
The City of Dubuque scores 100% on the 2020 Municipal Equality Index, demonstrating the support of LGBTQ people who work and live in Dubuque.

Housing

RECOMMENDATIONS - AT A GLANCE

► Identify markets and sites for new homes - A2a
► Foster development of new and additional housing products - A2b
► Continue work of Inclusive Dubuque to enhance economic resiliency - A2c

RECOMMENDATIONS - DETAILS & STATUS

Work with local residential realtors to understand why families choose or do not choose Dubuque when purchasing a new home. Once understood, use this data to identify suitable development sites for new homes. A2a - Coordinator: Alexis Steger, asteger@cityofdubuque.org

►Status: Getting Started

Presentations from City Housing & Community Development and Planning Departments help educate the local realtors about neighborhood revitalization and incentives.
The interactive financial incentives map supports reinvestment in existing, walkable neighborhoods that are close to shopping, schools, places of worship and services.
Multiple private and public programs contribute to creating quality housing, revitalizing downtown neighborhoods.

Foster the development of new and additional housing products in suitable locations throughout the City. A2b - Coordinator: Alexis Steger, asteger@cityofdubuque.org

► Status: Getting Started

Supported by Housing & Historic Tax Credits, and local Urban Renewal and Urban Revitalization Districts and Workforce Housing grants. See Financial Incentives Map for more.
Examples include: Gardens of Dubuque, Roosevelt West, Full Circle, Sky Blue Development and Marquette Hall.

Continue the current work of Inclusive Dubuque, also formulating strategies to enhance economic resiliency and mitigate the impact of economic disruptions locally. A2c - Coordinator: Paul Duster, paul@dbqfoundation.org

► Status: Underway

Housed at Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, Inclusive Dubuque continues outreach, research and education.
Targeted assistance for those affected economically during COVID-19, focused on preventing evictions and assisting those rent-burdened. Stakeholders include Inclusive Dubuque, City of Dubuque's Housing & Community Development Department, Catholic Charities, and St. Vincent DePaul.

Business

RECOMMENDATIONS - AT A GLANCE

► Enhance broadband service to align with business/employment growth - A3a
► Strengthen Dubuque as a regional retail destination - A3b

RECOMMENDATIONS - DETAILS & STATUS

Work with the city’s broadband providers to ensure the city’s technological future, given its implications for the city’s business growth and employment growth. A3a - Coordinator: Dave Lyons, davel@greaterdubuque.org

► Status: Underway

Broadband Planning Team, led through Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, strives toward redundancy of service for business areas (at 100%) and the goal of 100% coverage at homes.
The continued laying of fiber increases access (what percentage of community has access) and choice (price and service) for consumers and businesses.
Redundancy is good, especially for fire and EMS which cannot afford to lose signal. Both private sector and City fiber are installed, and in some cases each may share with the other.
Fiber optics have the opportunity to support all types of systems through Dubuque. For water delivery, it's an improvement from radio, helping with monitoring, breaks, towers, pump and lift stations. By helping to monitor, it prevents breaks and costs.
Fiber optics are critical for the 5G network and the City's STREETS program, which leads nationally with premier video surveillance technology, making Dubuque streets safer and its traffic more efficient.

Collaborate with Kennedy Mall ownership and surrounding major centers to support regional retail. A3b - Coordinator: Rick Dickinson, rickd@greaterdubuque.org

► Status: Getting Started

Greater Dubuque Development Corporation utilizes LOIS, a national inventory of Kennedy Mall & others included. InfoAction Program working with Cararfo. Retail Strategies contract works to recruit.

QUESTIONS + INFORMATION

Please contact Jason Duba with the City of Dubuque
jduba@cityofdubuque.org
(563) 589-4223