Dupaco Voices Building honored for excellence in historic preservation

DUBUQUE, Iowa—The renovation of the Dupaco Voice Building, located at 1000 Jackson St. in Dubuque’s Historic Millwork District, recently received recognition for its outstanding revitalization and preservation efforts. The honors include:

• Best Building Rehabilitation Award by Main Street Iowa. This award was presented to Dupaco by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham as part of the annual Main Street Iowa Development Award Ceremony on April 22 in Des Moines. The Dupaco Voices Building was one of 13 projects recognized that honored the efforts of those who worked tirelessly to revitalize Iowa’s downtowns. The award honors outstanding accomplishments, activities and people making a difference in the state’s Main Street districts.
• Ken Kringle Historic Preservation Award by City of Dubuque. This award was presented to Dupaco by the City of Dubuque’s Historic Preservation Commission as part of the 20th Ken Kringle Historic Preservation Awards ceremony on May 3. The Dupaco Voices Building was one of four projects and one individual that was recognized at the award ceremony.
• Adaptive Re-Use and Sustainability in Preservation Award by Preservation Iowa. This award was presented to Dupaco as part of Preservation Iowa’s 2022 Preserve Iowa Summit on June 2 in Mason City, Iowa. The Dupaco Voices Building was one of 12 projects recognized for the commitment to excellence in historic preservation.

Dupaco President and CEO Joe Hearn said the financial cooperative’s choice to revive a building for the organization’s corporate headquarters in Dubuque’s Historic Millwork District harnesses our community’s momentum to create unique marketable differentiator.

“Beyond giving new life to a tired community treasure, the revitalization of the Dupaco Voices Building provides a truly unique space for not only Dupaco employees, but future business and retail tenants,” said Hearn. “And, Dupaco Alley illuminates a space for the community for the first time in nearly 100 years.

“Dupaco was proud to work with such a great group of craftspeople, tradespeople and contractors who played an active role in this project to help breathe new life into Voices.”

Dupaco began construction on the 171,432-square-foot, five-story structure in 2019. Originally built in 1924, the building was part of the Carr, Ryder & Adams Manufacturing Company, when Dubuque’s Millwork Distract was the largest maker of windows, doors and cabinetry in the United States.

Dupaco Chairman Ron Meyers said before deciding on the Voices building, the organization first considered a multitude of factors.

“Of all the options, we determined the Dupaco Voices Building ultimately would provide the most economic value to our more than 145,000 members, offer the best experience for current and future employees, and have the greatest positive impact on our community,” said Meyers. “These factors included total member value, community impact, employee experience, future workforce and cost.”

Dupaco currently has over 200 employees utilizing floors 3, 4 and 5, including back office departments like IT, HR, marketing, accounting and finance, contact center, facilities and project management. The Dupaco Voices Building welcomed its first tenant in May 2022, who is leasing a portion of the second floor.

ABOUT DUPACO COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION:
Dupaco Community Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa. It is dedicated to the financial well-being of its members, and specializes in personalized financial counseling, money advice and education. It offers savings, loans, investments, insurance and wealth management products for individuals and businesses. Dupaco serves residents in 112 counties throughout Iowa, northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. Founded in 1948 by ten Dubuque Packing Company employees, membership has grown to almost 151,000 with assets of nearly $2.9 billion. It has more than 600 employees and 22 branch office locations. Dupaco is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). It is a Forbes Best-in-State Credit Union and a Des Moines Register Top Workplace. Learn more at www.dupaco.com/newsroom.

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