Community and College Downtown Partnerships

Connecting Campus and Community

Grinnell College and the town in which it is located are connected by more than a name. Each is immeasurably enriched by the other. College-community partnerships can be as informal as neighbors helping neighbors, and as substantive as major revitalization projects. 

Since 2012, Grinnell College has partnered with the Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce and City of Grinnell on downtown development — specifically to intentionally build out the “zone of confluence” between the campus and downtown business district, with the goal of continued downtown revitalization through social and economic activity. These College-community development initiatives are energizing and connecting campus and downtown. Recognized by the state of Iowa in 2016 with an incentive through the Iowa Reinvestment District program, many new developments in Grinnell have been eligible to receive a tax rebate on new retail sales generated since 2020. 

Streetscape Updates: Park St. from 5th to 6th Ave 

Completed during the fall of 2024, this project was part of a multi-year effort to improve the infrastructure, sidewalks, and streetscapes in the downtown area. Including new lighting, sidewalks, and street, this project significantly enhances the infrastructure and pedestrian experience serving important buildings, including the Grinnell College preschool laboratory, Levi House, Grinnell House, and several Grinnell College student houses. 

Renfrow Hall

Project Description: Reflecting an understanding of how the built environment can encourage teaching and learning, engagement, and interaction, Renfrow Hall is a unique facility at the nexus between the College campus and the town of Grinnell. Conceived as a gateway that fuses and dissolves the barriers between town and institution, the project presents an extraordinary new model for 21st-century living and learning. A reflection of the College’s unwavering commitment to cultivating engaged civic scholars, the architecture is designed as a destination that weaves the town and the College together in shared experiences. The residential portion of the building houses approximately 110 students committed to civic engagement in modern apartment-style living. The Katherine Howell Weingart ’61 Civic Innovation Pavilion serves as the public portion of Renfrow Hall, offering a unique gathering space dedicated to campus and community connection, collaboration, and exchange while building on a strong Grinnell tradition of community-wide partnerships and problem-solving. Through this project, Grinnell — the College and the town — is poised to become a national model for civic engagement and community collaboration in a rural setting.  

Project Location: 1033 Broad Street 
Project Status: In progress 
Target Projected Completion Date: 2025

All dates are subject to change pending approvals, material, and workforce availability. 

EMERA by Merge Urban Development

Project Description: Emera by the Merge Urban Development Group is the first new market-rate housing located in the Zone of Confluence. This project will attract new downtown residents, increase overall activity in the downtown area, and support further growth of local businesses. The building will be open to the general public. Located on Main Street, the building will feature four stories containing a mix of studio, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom units, micro retail space for commercial tenants, and a large restaurant space. 

Project Location: 1020 Main Street 
Project Status: In Progress 
Target Projected Completion Date: TBD

Broad Street 1000 Block South Energy Plant & Infrastructure

Project Description: The College is continuing to grow its heating, cooling, and power distribution, with further progress in reducing electric and fossil fuel consumption with the ultimate long-term goal of being carbon neutral. The 821 5th Ave building (basement) will be the home of the new hot water boiler plant. New heating and cooling water piping, as well as campus power, will be routed between campus from the 821 5th Ave building to the north, serving upcoming building projects at the Broad St. and Hwy 6 vicinity, connecting with the College’s existing on-campus distribution systems. Site preparation began in July 2022 as the College develops a timeline and plan for the south energy plant project, which builds upon infrastructure and furthers campus carbon-neutrality goals. This work will help connect energy use across parts of campus and to downtown, making improvements such as air conditioning in more residence halls possible. Infrastructure work will include site work in the 1000-block along Broad Street, beginning in early August.

Project Location: Broad Street 
Project Status: In Progress
Target Projected Completion Date: Fall 2024