Iowa

The Muscatine Comprehensive Neighborhood Revitalization Grant is a much-needed program targeting the Mulberry neighborhood in Muscatine, Iowa. There are roughly 2,842 people residing in the area that will be touched by some aspect of this project.

The neighboring rural communities of Carson and Macedonia shared a need for the revitalization of some blighted commerical facades on key buildings in their downtown areas. With neither community having enough structures to meet program requirements individually, they combined their projects through the sponsorship of Pottawatamie County who served as the CDBG grant applicant. In this way, both communities shared in the maximum amount of grant dollars available to an individual applicant and will be able to repair, rehabilitate and preserve four buildings in Carson and five buildings in Macedonia. Though small in number, the impact of these nine rehanbilitated commercial structures will be significant in these very small communiites.

This project will involve renovations to an existing mental health facility (Turning Point Evaluation, Inc.) which provides services to primarily LMI persons. Turning Point offers essential outpatient therapy services in four areas: mental health, substance abuse, behavioral health intervention services, and equine-assisted psychotherapy. In 2018, Turning Point completed renovations to the top floor of the building. While the organization has invested approximately $120,000 into the physical facility since taking possession, the building still needs major investment to meet long-term needs in the ever-changing mental health sphere.