Greater Iowa City, Inc. unveils new initiatives at annual meeting

The evening of Nov. 21 saw a packed house at the Hyatt Regency Coralville, as Corridor business leaders, stakeholders and partners gathered for Greater Iowa City, Inc.’s annual meeting. The newly formed organization, born from the merger of the Iowa City Area Development Group and the Iowa City Area Business Partnership, spent only a fraction of the time highlighting its accomplishments from the past year. Instead, the focus was on Greater Iowa City’s new data digest, created from a task force to better understand Johnson County within the context of the region and state, and initiatives for 2025 that are already underway. “The digest offers us an opportunity to review our current business complexion, confirm or adjust our anecdotal understandings and measure progress over time,” said Nancy Bird, Greater Iowa City, Inc. president and CEO. Among the findings:

• Johnson County has over 3,500 businesses; of these, 95% have less than 50 employees
• The county has a labor force of over 86,000 and an unemployment rate of 2.4%
• Businesses generate approximately $62,000 in GDP per capita
• 24% of households are classified as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Restrained)
• 44.7% of people employed in Johnson County live elsewhere, while 67% of county residents also work in the county
• Visitor spending per capita increased by 14% from 2018 to 2022
• Between 2013 and 2022, the population grew by 14%

“While we have grown quickly, our lower income population has grown faster than our markets’ ability to support the upward mobility, and that's a problem for everyone,” said Ms. Bird. Results from the Business Retention and Expansion survey revealed that many Johnson County businesses attribute their success to innovation, technology, and strong community engagement. However, talent recruitment emerged as the most pressing challenge, with 30% of respondents also citing government policy as a barrier, followed by employee retention at 27%. To maintain the region’s competitiveness, survey participants emphasized the need to address issues like housing availability, talent attraction, and childcare. Despite these challenges, respondents reaffirmed Johnson County's appeal as an investment destination, highlighting its high quality of life and community assets. “This feedback reaffirms that we're on the right track for many businesses, but it also underscores the need for collective action on key challenges,” said Ms. Bird. “We must focus on initiatives that alleviate stress on our local workforce, expand affordable and attainable housing, and bridge the gap between job seekers and the jobs available in our county.”

Looking ahead to 2025

Looking ahead to 2025, Ms. Bird outlined a series of new initiatives, several of which are already in progress. Greater Iowa City, Inc. is introducing three new strategic investment districts designed to foster economic growth through a localized approach, Ms. Bird said, and include Cherry Street in North Liberty, Fifth Street in Coralville and Sycamore Street in Iowa City. “By leveraging the character of each area, we can attract investments, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for our residents,” stated a recent Greater Iowa City, Inc. newsletter. These districts are non-regulatory zones, meaning they won't impose new rules or restrictions but will serve as focus areas for targeted technical services and support. The initiative aims to enhance development by concentrating resources and expertise in specific communities. “These strategic investment districts focus on locations within the community that need reinvestment and use a neighborhood's unique identity and strengths as a competitive advantage,” Ms. Bird said. “Place-based strategies emphasize the value of strong neighborhoods and the people who gather there, whether for work or play or living, and are designed to transform underutilized areas into thriving neighborhoods.” The areas were chosen both for the need to intervene with a falling market and pre-existing assets. “We believe that with some added technical support and investment, these areas can result in more identifiable, walkable neighborhoods with childcare, transit, grocery and other neighborhood services that improve the quality of life of our employee base and ultimately increase housing supply,” said Ms. Bird. Other focuses for 2025 include:

• The advancement of Pop-up Metro, a pilot passenger transit program that would utilize the CRANDIC railroad for public transportation, helping solve the costly parking issue in Iowa City
• The new Business Resource Center located at MERGE, featuring local business experts who are available to provide guidance on a variety of topics for businesses of every stage
• Child care solutions – raising wages for workers
• Advocacy and coalition building

Johnson County's largest employer expanding

Following Ms. Bird’s presentation, Dr. Denise Jamieson, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa, took the podium to give updates on University of Iowa Health Care. University of Iowa, including UI Health Care, is the largest employer in Johnson County with more than 24,000 total employees. “We're not the same health system that we were even a year ago, and one of the ways in which we've changed is we're getting bigger,” said Dr. Jamieson. Since she started her role at UI Health Care in August 2023, the system has since acquired Mercy Hospital in downtown Iowa City as well as Mission Cancer + Blood, a 43-year-old community-based cancer-care business with 22 locations in Central and Western Iowa. Additionally, UI Health Care is constructing a campus in North Liberty primarily centered on orthopedics, and also expanded its air transport partnership with Air Methods with a New Quad Cities base. “In terms of clinical care, we take care of millions of patients at our campuses and clinics across the state, but it's not just to provide direct clinical care,” she said. “We also have a responsibility to ensure care across the state, and to partner with others to ensure that accessible health care for Iowans by Iowans is close to home,” adding that they are committed to research that impacts Iowans. “We're in the lab, we're in the classroom, we're in patient care rooms, we're in the operating room, and we really are trying to change medicine and change lives,” Dr. Jamieson said. “We've been in this community for 150 years, and as I look ahead and as we continue to experience accelerated change, I know that we will continue to work together to build a strong, resilient region. I'm really proud to help lead UI Health Care, and I'm really excited to be connected to Greater Iowa City.”