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Downtown Davenport Jobs (DDJ) The City of Davenport, Iowa. Where is Davenport, Iowa?. QUICK FACTS Population of 100,000+ on the shore of the Mississippi River Largest city within the Quad Cities, a metro region of almost 400,000 people Major industries include: Advanced Manufacturing
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Downtown Davenport Jobs (DDJ) The City of Davenport, Iowa
Where is Davenport, Iowa? QUICK FACTS • Population of 100,000+ on the shore of the Mississippi River • Largest city within the Quad Cities, a metro region of almost 400,000 people • Major industries include: • Advanced Manufacturing • Banking and Finance • Warehouse/Distribution
Downtown Davenport, Iowa • Major Employers: • City, County, and Community College • State and Federal Courts • Lee Enterprises • MidAmerican Energy • Vital banking, financial and insurance district for the entire region • Housing: • Urban neighborhood with a diverse and growing population of students, families, and empty nest retirees • Millions of dollars in new downtown housing investment in the last 5-10 years, both for market-rate and subsidized units • Amenities, Attractions and Events: • Figge Art Museum • Rhythm City Casino • Quad City River Bandits at Modern Woodman Stadium • Bix Beiderbecke Music Festival and Road Race • Centennial Park and the iconic Skybridge
DDJ - The Genesis and Program Details • Why the Program Was Created • The City of Davenport sought to create an extraordinary incentive in order to encourage business creation and expansion in our downtown. • Program Details • Businesses creating jobs in the DDJ can opt for either: • A $3,000 per job created 0% interest loan for 60 months OR • A $1,000 per job cash grant (set up in the City’s system as a forgivable loan pending the actual job creation) • All businesses have two years to create the jobs pledged and then must maintain them for three additional years.
DDJ - The Results Since November of 2010: • 8 total businesses have been assisted (5 created and 3 expanded) • 102 jobs have been created or will be created before December 2013 • $283,000 in City CDBG investment has been part of a total new investment of almost $550,000 within downtown Davenport by the 8 businesses assisted • Of that amount, only $20,000 has been given as grants. The remaining $263,000 was loaned providing CDBG program income.
DDJ - The Future? City of Davenport Staffers Intend To… • Continue to monitor outstanding DDJ projects for compliance • More aggressively market the program both inside and outside of downtown Davenport. • Explore an application to HUD to designation of the residential neighborhoods in and around downtown as a Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) AND • Go out to eat for lunch and dinner whenever we can(After all, 5 of the DDJ projects were unique new restaurants in the core of our City…and a few blocks from City Hall). Spa Luce (DDJ-01) Ribbon Cutting Spring 2011
City of Davenport, Iowa Please contact Bruce Berger at (563) 328-6706 or beb@ci.davenport.ia.us for additional information.