The City of Davenport has been named a 2023 All-Star Community by the Iowa League of Cities for its Davenport DREAM Project.
The city will be recognized at an awards banquet tonight (Thursday, Sept. 21) at the League’s Annual Conference & Exhibit in Cedar Rapids.
The All-Star Community Award is the most prestigious honor given by the League to cities.
Entries are judged by a panel of former city officials and others familiar with municipal government. Judges determine winners based on innovative efforts in areas such as urban renewal, development, preservation, collaborative efforts or quality of life improvements.
Davenport was among three of Iowa’s 940 cities to garner such recognition this year.
The Davenport DREAM Project is a neighborhood restoration program that hopes to inspire a renewed interest in the unique architecture and character found in Davenport’s heritage neighborhoods. In 2019, the city council worked with staff to create the Davenport DREAM Project to help revitalize the community’s core neighborhoods and improve housing opportunities.
The city has used a combination of local and federal funding to support the efforts, which initially offered participants purchasing a home in a Davenport DREAM Project neighborhood a forgivable loan – forgiven over five years – of up to $20,000 to be applied toward improvements to the home.
Round five of the Davenport DREAM Project just recently closed with more than 120 applications received for prospective homeowners. Each round, the city funds approximately 35 projects. In total, 222 properties have received the award and 195 homes have seen an impact from a Dream Project investment.
Due to the success and high interest, related programs were created. DREAM Plus, was established and launched in 2022 utilizing $2 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds. The city provided up to $40,000 for exterior repairs as well as $10,000 for interior renovations. The expanded program also includes support for repairing rental properties.
The Commercial DREAM program helped to rehabilitate the façade of seven local businesses.
In addition, the Extreme DREAM Project is an extension of the Davenport DREAM Project. Its aim is to rehabilitate vacant and abandoned homes into owner-occupied residences along the Gaines Street corridor. The Extreme DREAM Project offers a dollar-for-dollar match up to $100,000 for qualifying expenses.
In total, about $8 million has been invested in Davenport’s core neighborhoods through all the programs.
This year’s other All-Star Community Award winners are Northwood and Clear Lake.
