Downtown Assessments

a couple walking outside of a restaurant patio

What are your downtown's strengths? Weaknesses? What can you do to make it more attractive to customers? The Iowa Downtown Resource Center offers a variety of services to help communities identify these strengths, weaknesses and solutions.

Assessment Options

Downtown Assessment ($2,500)

  • An intense, on-site study is performed by four to five downtown development professionals. They will spend three days in your community visiting local businesses and interviewing stakeholders, as well as conducting a public presentation. Based on what they see and learn, they will prepare a 30- to 40-page written report that details short- and long-range recommendations to use for your planning. The report also provides design concepts that support the recommendations. Participating communities receive one free registration to the next Iowa Downtown Conference.
  • Prior to the assessment, the Iowa Downtown Resource Center will administer a community survey and identify strengths. If selected, a community must coordinate all logistics for the visit, including scheduling meetings with a robust cross section of individuals, organizations, businesses, etc.
  • Communities that participate in a Downtown Assessment tend to be more likely to mobilize volunteers, implement projects and participate in Iowa Economic Development Authority programs.

Downtown Walk-Around ($300)

  • This quick visit offers communities an honest first impression of your downtown. Iowa Downtown Resource Center staff members and professional consultants spend a morning or afternoon in your downtown. They will take a short walking tour of your district with community leaders, as well as walk the district on their own and pop into businesses. Strengths will be identified, and issues needing attention will be called out. 
  • The tour will be followed by a brief meeting with community leaders and a two-page summary of the visit. Downtown Walk-Arounds are designed for communities with populations fewer than 10,000.

Eligibility

Any community in Iowa can request a Downtown Assessment (application required) and/or a Downtown Walk-Around.

Application Process

Downtown Assessments are limited to six communities in 2025. A brief application is due by noon February 7, with applicants notified of their status February 28. Selected sites will schedule their visits at that time. Those not chosen are encouraged to reapply in 2026.