Invest DSM, which works alongside property owners to strengthen older neighborhoods in Des Moines, will expand its reach into three additional neighborhoods this year, said Amber Lynch, the organization’s executive director.
Invest DSM will begin offering grants through a variety of programs for improvements to homes and businesses in the Union Park, North of Grand and Woodland Heights neighborhoods.
Those areas will join Invest DSM’s current neighborhoods as Special Investment Districts. Current areas eligible for Invest DSM grants are Columbus Park, Drake, Franklin and the Oak Park/Highland Park neighborhoods. (The shaded areas on the map above show the current areas served by Invest DSM programs.)
“We do work with businesses in those areas but to a lesser degree,” Lynch said. “The vast majority of work that we do tends to be with homeowners that are living in those areas to help them make upgrades to the older homes that they’re living in.”
Invest DSM invests with businesses for the same reason, she said.
“Whether it’s a new business looking to occupy a space that’s been vacant for a long time or [an] existing business that is looking to expand or refresh their facade, we share the cost of all those types of projects,” Lynch said.
