WASHINGTON NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT CORPORATION

WASHINGTON NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT CORPORATION. The non-governmental, non-profit corporation was announced to the media and city council on June 8, 1972. The purpose of the organization was to rehabilitate and preserve one of the oldest parts of the city. (1)

The geographical boundaries of the corporation were Pine, 20th, White and 12th streets. Once known locally as "St. Mary's neighborhood," the area was zoned industrial in Dubuque's first comprehensive zoning ordinance established in 1934. Truck routes were planned through the neighborhood as industries developed. Many residents moved out. (2)

In 1966 Anthony SIGWARTH (Monsignor), John J. "Hank" WALTZ and others formed the Washington Neighborhood Council. In one of the early actions, the group established the Washington Opportunities Center in a building donated by Catholic Charities. This was followed by a successful two-year legal battle that went to the Iowa Supreme Court re-designating the area from industrial to multi-family residential. The Council then challenged the Iowa Highway Commission on the location of the north-south freeway which would have gone through the area displacing residents. In 1975 the Council succeeded in having the WASHINGTON STREET DIVERTERS installed. The Washington Neighborhood Improvement Corporation was to work closely with the Washington Neighborhood Council, a part of the River Valley Community Action Program. (3)

The president of the corporation was Alvin Emil LUNDH. Vice-president of the corporation was Rev. Sigwarth, pastor of ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH. The board of directors was to be primarily composed of neighborhood residents. Subcommittees of area residents would carry out responsibilities for specific tasks. (4)

All the leaders of the corporation, except Lundh, were once opponents of the north-south freeway. The highway planners' cooperation with the area's residents and the eventual relocation of the highway east and south of the neighborhood led to further cooperation. (5)

Long-term goals of the organization included improvement of existing housing, a new park-playground complex with a swimming pool, street planning, and establishment of new family and elderly housing. Plans also included a tool lending library, greenhouse, nursing home, day-care center, and an arts and crafts center. Whenever possible, existing structures were to be rehabilitated using local non-governmental funds. (6)

From 2005 to 2015 the city invested $9 million in the neighborhood leveraging over $12 million in private investment and $13 million in grants and state and federal funding. This was to promote home ownership, home repairs, and residential and commercial development. A planning process led by Teska Associates in 2009 led the City of Dubuque to develop a plan including market analysis and land-use along with other strategies with the aim of accelerating the area's improvement. The Neighborhood Development Corporation was to lead the effort with a "how-to" plan with measurable goals. (7)

Corporation leaders chose to leave the neighborhood responsibilities to the residents. Their attention would be on an ongoing project with the City and DUBUQUE MAIN STREET, LTD. to use state grant money to upgrade and restore the facades of Central Avenue storefronts to encourage new business. (8)

In August 2017 it was announced that the city had spent more than $2.3 million in the past two fiscal years to improve 89 housing units, and it had provided more than $500,000 in assistance to 43 homebuyers. (9)

See: WASHINGTON NEIGHBORHOOD TOOL LIBRARY

URBAN REVITALIZATION DISTRICTS

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Source:

1. Bulkley, John. "Neighborhood Improvement Group Debuts," Telegraph Herald, June 9, 1972, p. 1. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bg9RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BsQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6921,4169609&dq=washington+neighborhood+tool+library&hl=en

2. Ibid.

3. Fyten, David. "Our Neighborhood," Telegraph Herald, November 12, 1975, p. 1. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MvZQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Qb4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6812,1902385&dq=washington+neighborhood+tool+library&hl=en

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Barton, Thomas J. "Washington Neighborhood Organization 'Regrouping,' Telegraph Herald, October 12, 2015, p. 1

8. Ibid. p. 2

9. "Residential Development in the Washington Neighborhood is Improving," KWWL.com Online: http://www.kwwl.com/story/36076035/2017/8/7/residential-development-in-the-washington-neighborhood-is-improving