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InvestDSM director says neighborhood program produced $108 million in investment, urges continued support
Summary
InvestDSM executive director Theresa Greenfield told the council InvestDSM’s five programs have produced more than $108 million in combined public and private investment and completed 1,872 projects in six years; she said 2025 was the busiest year with $31.6 million invested and 479 completed projects.
Theresa Greenfield, executive director of InvestDSM, told the council the city-backed neighborhood investment program has moved from concept to measurable results, producing over $108 million in public and private investment and completing 1,872 projects since launch.
Greenfield said InvestDSM focuses on the city’s “middle” neighborhoods — 27 neighborhoods the city identified as stable enough to respond to investment but vulnerable to decline — and delivers five programs: a block challenge, homeowner renovation grants, single-family developer grants, rental rehabilitation, and commercial grants. "We work in the whole neighborhood and all of it is designed and focused to build vibrant neighborhoods," she said.
The director reported 2025 as the most active year to date: $31.6 million in neighborhood investment, 479 projects completed in 2025, 277 active projects and 445 in the pipeline. She described a leverage ratio in which private investors put in roughly four dollars for every one dollar of InvestDSM grant funding, and she noted that the city and county each contribute half of the InvestDSM dollar.
Greenfield highlighted results in named neighborhoods, including Highland Park and Columbus Park, and gave concrete examples of the program’s work: acquiring a fire-damaged property at 1102 Clinton, demolishing it, splitting the lot and building two new homes that will increase assessed value and add new households to the neighborhood.
Council members asked for a more detailed breakdown of the program’s leverage by project type (commercial versus residential). Greenfield agreed to provide that detailed breakdown to Scott and to council members, and she invited elected officials to tours of InvestDSM neighborhoods to see projects firsthand.
The InvestDSM director also listed nonprofit partners working with the program (Habitat, Home, Inc., NFC, NDC and others) and said some completed or in-progress homes will be placed into the Central Iowa Land Trust to preserve affordability. She said roughly 96% of certain grant recipients remain in place after renovation, describing the program as, in part, a home-retention model.
Greenfield said InvestDSM is expanding into two new service areas north of Grand (Woodland Heights and Union Park), bringing the program’s reach to an estimated 2,000 additional households. She said the program expects to exit Franklin at the end of 2026 after six years of investment and will continue to seek new neighborhoods for future work.
Council members raised implementation questions — for example, how many new homes on East Granger were completed (speakers gave different quick counts during the meeting) and whether the InvestDSM model could or should be adapted for more distressed neighborhoods that lie outside the program’s “middle” focus. Greenfield and council members agreed InvestDSM is not a one-size-fits-all solution but said InvestDSM staff and partners will work with the city’s broader housing strategy to coordinate approaches for more deeply distressed blocks.
The council did not take a vote on any ordinance or funding action during the update; staff committed to return with requested data and to bring individual grant recommendations to the council for approval when applicable.
