To our Avondale Estates community:  

“If you build it, they will come.” The phrase made popular in the movie “Field of Dreams” is as true today in Avondale Estates as it was in an Iowa cornfield in 1989. City leadership strongly believed that building the 2.5-acre Town Green in the heart of our downtown would catalyze future development. Since construction began, there has been tremendous private interest to develop parcels throughout the downtown, and particularly on property adjacent to the Town Green owned by the City and its Downtown Development Authority (DDA). 

During the past several months, the Board of Mayor and Commissioners (BOMC) and the DDA have received multiple proposals for development on these sites. We knew the properties would play an important role in delivering the vision created by the community in the Downtown Master Plan, but thought the redevelopment would come to fruition in five to ten years. However, opportunities for development have come sooner than anticipated and propelled both the BOMC and DDA to think long and hard about what would be in the City’s best interest and whether we should accelerate that timeline.  

After careful vetting, the BOMC and DDA have decided to bring three development proposals forward that best align with the City’s vision. These projects will be revenue generators, diversifying the City’s tax base so less of the City’s tax burden will be carried by residents. And just as importantly, they are “place makers” – high-quality projects built to be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike that will activate and energize the downtown. 

Our initial evaluation of these proposals is promising, and we strongly believe the proposals selected optimally leverage the property for our residents, businesses and visitors. 

We are extremely excited to introduce these opportunities to you. We have prepared an FAQ that we believe answers many, if not all, the questions you might have. You can find the FAQs on our website. We cannot wait to engage with you in discussions that will help bring these projects to the finish line and build a better Avondale Estates for generations to come.