CITY GREENHOUSE

CITY GREENHOUSE. The Dubuque city greenhouse has operated at the foot of EAGLE POINT PARK since 1929. It provided a warm place in the cold winter months for parks workers to grow seeds and starts into larger plants for spring plantings. The nursery grows about 20,000 plants, which fill annual beds downtown, at the Port of Dubuque, and on Grandview Avenue.

In 2025, a group of concerned citizens campaigned for increased parks maintenance staffing at Eagle Point Park. In 2026 they were concerned cost for greenhouse activities costing $655,000.

City officials in 2026 argued the actual cost of operating the greenhouse nursery is minor — only about $26,000 annually, for utilities and maintenance. The nursery operates for 14 weeks, getting seeds and starts ready to go for plantings. The bulk of the Parks Division Greenhouse activity, $499,000, was spent on labor costs for all its landscapers that the city would require regardless of where the plants were grown before they were planted in landscape beds. The crews include chief horticulturalist Kelly Goossen, two full-time assistants, four seasonal workers and an assistant horticulturalist shared with Public Works.

The Parks Department’s horticulture crews have 38 different landscaping sites across the city to water, plant and maintain during growing season. The city shifted some annual beds to perennial beds to cut costs, but received pushback from citizens who liked the brighter annual flowers. Perennial plants also still have some costs even if the native varieties are lower maintenance.

The ability to grow plants from seed, for as little 60 cents per plant allows Dubuque to gain enough in savings to cover the operations of the greenhouse and then some, resulting in at least $40,000 in annual net revenue.

The greenhouse did have long-term costs with occasional capital projects, the city plans to spend $147,000 to replace the damaged, brittle and yellowing polycarbonate panels.

Costs vary not just by size of plant but by species, and the city plants more annual plants, specifically in hanging baskets that it cannot grow in the greenhouse. Hanging baskets at the Port of Dubuque are shipped in and cost about $10,500 for 100 plants, twice a year. The greenhouse was not air-conditioned in the summertime and become unbearably hot, leading to plants ordered for the fall plantings. Fall plants, which go heavy toward mums, cost about $5 apiece wholesale.

Source:

Gray, Chris, "Dubuque City Council Decides Greenhouse Savings Worth the Cost" THonline, April 23, 2026