Media Release
May 6, 2016 contact: Scott Tunnicliff
Main Street Iowa Celebrates 30 years of Outstanding Achievements
Hilltop Campus Village recognized for Leadership
and Million Dollar Reinvestment Milestone
Main Street Iowa celebrated 30 years of downtown and commercial district revitalizations at their Annual Awards Ceremony in Des Moines last Friday. Approximately 450 people from the state’s 51 districts attended a celebration dinner and award presentations .
The honors were presented by Governor Terry E. Branstad and Debi Durham, Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
This year, there were four award categories, and three subgroups in each, for rural, mid-sized and larger communities. The categories were Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Gamechanger and Innovation.
Dale Owen, CEO of Ascentra Credit Union, was honored with a Leadership Award for his role in establishing a multi-million branch location in the Hilltop Campus Village, its key sponsorship of the Hilltop Campus Village Fall Music Festival, and his developing an agreement with the HCV that allows them to manage and occupy their former branch at 122 East 15 th Street.
“I am honored to have been nominated by the HCV Board to receive this award. It means a great deal to me and to Ascentra to have its role in the Hilltop acknowledged state-wide for its commitment to community reinvestment”, said Mr. Owen. “We anticipate doing more significant things within this area in the near future.”
The Hilltop Campus Village District was also singled out for a special Reinvestment Milestone Achievement. 9 Iowa communities were honored for reaching new Million Dollar Benchmarks in 2015. Davenport’s Hilltop Campus Village exceeded $50 million this year, the largest milestone so honored.
“This is a really stunning achievement for our district.”, said Scott Tunnicliff,Director of the Hilltop Campus Village. “Main Street Iowa does a very thorough job of tracking private dollars invested in rehabilitation and acquisition. We help by monitoring activity in the area on a monthly basis, tracking sales and building permits, along with categories such as job creation, business attraction and progress of our four volunteer Work Groups .”
Robert Lee, Hilltop Campus Board President, also attended the ceremonies and received the award from Gov. Branstad and Ms. Durham. He said, “To me as a volunteer, this is gratifying, particularly when you look at all that is occurring. Nothing is counted until it is completed, and we have a lot more coming.” Mr. Lee, who has been President of the Board since 2012, added that “From a big picture perspective, one of the great values of this ceremony comes from seeing examples around the state of building rehabilitation and community revitalization. The innovation and energy of some communities, of all sizes, is incredible.”
Terry Buschkamp, Main Street Iowa’s Urban District consultant, said in the presentation that “Hilltop Campus Village has been on a roll since 2009, when they were designated as one of the first of our urban neighborhood districts. They were recognized for surpassing the $20 million benchmark in 2012, and the transformation of this historical district that serves as one of the main arteries in the city of Davenport continues.”
For more information about Main Street Iowa, e-mail mainstreet@iowa.gov or call 515 725 3051. For additional information on Hilltop Campus Village, contact Scott Tunnicliff, Director at 563 370 2098 or hcvscott@gmail.com
What: This year our annual festival celebrates the 1980’s, and includes an ’80s car show, live music, food vendors, and a free outdoor showing of Back to the Future.