As the leaders of MidWestOne Bank, Hills Bank, and GreenState Credit Union (lending institutions headquartered in Johnson County) we serve our customers with a shared commitment to community, connection, and long-term growth. That’s why we’ve decided to support the new effort led by Greater Iowa City, Inc., that serves to shine a light on areas of our community that could have stronger outcomes for businesses and residents alike if we were to work collaboratively together with purpose.

We are underwriting the planning effort for three Strategic Investment Districts – one for the Sycamore area of Iowa City, one along 5th Street in Coralville, and one centered around Cherry Street in North Liberty. The initiative puts the talents of our own business and community leaders to work, and to think differently about building stronger commercial neighborhoods.

At the center of the Strategic Investment District initiative, are goals to increase business opportunities, forward-thinking housing that is both attainable and affordable, accessibility to child care, transit, cultural opportunities, and walkable neighborhood services.

This initiative reflects a fresh approach to local investment — one that is intentional, collaborative, and grounded in “place” that is less reliant on municipal services to solve all challenges. Instead of tackling housing, child care, and other workforce needs in isolation, these three districts offer a chance to plan together. By aligning resources and partnerships, we can drive the greatest impact where it’s needed most.

Albeit experimental, this new model is rooted in community input and a collective commitment to act. Strategic Investment Districts live out place-based economic development. They allow us to be a part of the advocacy to invest in infrastructure, housing, business corridors, and quality-of-life amenities with our cities in a way that’s strategic, not scattershot.

As financial institutions, we each have our own programs to support local growth — small business lending, community development financing, first-time homebuyer assistance, and more. What excites us is the opportunity to set the stage for bringing those tools into a broader, community-wide effort that’s coordinated and catalytic.

Greater Iowa City, Inc. has created a platform for this kind of collective action. These districts will be datainformed, community-driven, and designed to ensure that workforce needs are being supported and worked through early in the design process. For too long, the business community has asked the question, “how do we drive economic development together?” This initiative allows our banking community to do just that. By focusing support for emerging commercial neighborhoods in the Iowa City area, we are ready to actively be part of the workforce solution AND with a shared commitment to community, connection, and long-term growth.

That’s a future we want to help build.

Charles N. (Chip) Reeves is CEO of MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. Lisa Shileny is president and CEO of Hills Bank and Trust Company. Vikram Israni is CEO of GreenState Credit Union.