Greater Iowa City details $85,000 small-business grants, Cherry Street strategic-investment work

Nancy Bird and staff from Greater Iowa City briefed the North Liberty City Council on Feb. 24 about economic development supports, a new community data dashboard and a small-business grant program tied to the city.

"North Liberty has grown over 7,000 residents in the past decade, and the city population is now up to over 20,000 residents as of 2024," Evan Doyle said as he walked council through regional and local data.

Bird and Doyle described a locally targeted grant program administered with the city: $85,000 in total grant dollars, with awards up to $10,000 per grantee and two grant types (tenant-improvement support and home-based business upgrades). The program drew 30 applications; staff said they are proceeding with 10 applicants now — nine tenant-improvement requests and one home-based upgrade — and that checks will be cut and recipients highlighted in the coming one-to-two months.

"The grants are designed for locally owned and operated small businesses only," Doyle said, adding that franchises were excluded to keep funding local. Greater Iowa City also emphasized a required 10 hours of participation for recipients at its business resource center and said it has conducted extensive outreach including networking events and one-on-one applicant assistance.

Katie Gerlock described next steps for a Cherry Street strategic investment district: property-owner outreach, a neighborhood engagement task force, reviews of regulatory and program opportunities (including commercial grant design and potential SMID evaluation), and work on branding, wayfinding and catalytic projects tied to existing public-art planning.

Councilmembers thanked the presenters. No formal city action was requested on Feb. 24; Greater Iowa City staff said they will work with applicants and city staff as projects move toward implementation.