Iowa Reinvestment Districts

Close up of a building

The Iowa Reinvestment District Program is designed to assist communities in developing transformative projects that improve the quality of life, create and enhance unique opportunities and substantially benefit the community, region and state.

The program provides up to $100 million in new state hotel/motel and sales tax revenues to be “reinvested” within approved districts. 

Eligibility

  • Reinvestment District cannot exceed 75 acres in size
  • At least one of the new proposed projects within the district must reach a total capital investment of $10 million
  • District must be in an Urban Renewal Area
  • District plans must include tax revenues generated by new retail establishments and new lessors
  • New retail establishments cannot exceed 50% of the total proposed capital investment
  • Total amount of new tax revenue to be remitted to the municipality cannot exceed 35% of the total cost of all proposed projects in the district plan
  • Eligible project within a Reinvestment District is a vertical improvement constructed or substantially improved within a district
  • Buildings that are in whole, or in part, used to conduct gambling or a hotel or motel connected to, or operated in conjunction with a gambling facility are not eligible

Application Process

Pre-Application

In the pre-application submittal, the applicant should provide as much of the requested information as possible. The pre-application process is designed to allow applicants to make reasonable changes to the proposed district plan before the final application is considered. 

  • Contact IEDA for an application form
  • The pre-application must be submitted within the annual filing window of February 22 – 25, 2021. 
  • Pre-applications will be scored and provisional awards approved by the IEDA Board
  • Following the provisional approval, application materials will be placed on IEDA's website within 10 days for public viewing
  • Applicant may amend any part of the pre-application to represent any change to the proposed projects within the district

Final Application

All application requirements must be met for the IEDA Board to consider the final application. The applicant may amend any part of the pre-application to represent any change to the proposed projects within the district.

  • Final application materials are due prior to the next year’s application filing window
  • Final application will be re-scored in the same manner as the pre-application, if changes are made
  • Board’s final funding decision may be different from the provisional funding decision based on the final application

Upon formal approval by the IEDA Board, a municipality may adopt an ordinance or resolution to establish a reinvestment district. The Iowa Department of Revenue is charged with collecting the tax revenues used to fund projects under the program.

Scoring Criteria

  • Uniqueness: 25 points
  • Economic impact: 25 points
  • Project feasibility: 10 points
  • Capital investment: 10 points
  • Funding leverage: 10 points
  • Nonretail focus: 10 points
  • Additional factors: 10 points (readiness for development, geographic diversity, funding need)

Resources

Applications Received