Dupaco Community Credit Union was founded in 1948 by 10 workers of the Dubuque Packing Company, then one of the largest meatpacking operations in the country and a major employer in the Midwest river town of Dubuque, Iowa. Like the city’s once-thriving millwork industry, the packing company eventually closed—but Dupaco survived and grew.
Today, the credit union employs more than 600 people and serves members in all 50 states, D.C. and 35 countries.
In 2020, Dupaco chose to invest that success back into Dubuque’s Historic Millwork District, moving its headquarters into the Voices Building—a 1920s warehouse built during the neighborhood’s industrial peak—blocks away from the credit union’s original location.
Dupaco’s decision: community first
When Dupaco began searching for a new operating center, the credit union wanted a location to serve not only its own needs but also the surrounding neighborhood.
“We looked at every option—new build, historic renovation, existing buildings,” said Joe Hearn, President and CEO of Dupaco.
The team considered the Voices Building but it quickly proved to be a large undertaking. The numbers to rehab a vacant former manufacturing building weren’t adding up. While the district was once a thriving millwork hub, the industry declined in the mid-20th century. Buildings throughout the neighborhood—including the Voices Building—sat empty and fell into disrepair.
John Gronen, CEO of Gronen Development, had already renovated another building in the area, so he knew what the rehabilitation entailed. His team performed due diligence on the Voices Building, mapping out the project and finding the right people to perform the necessary work.
“The more we unpeeled the layers and looked into it, it became apparent renovating the Voices Building was what we needed to do to return to our roots,” Hearn said. “Ultimately, we believed we could be the next piece to continue the redevelopment of this entire area.”
Renovation challenges
The rehabilitation was no small feat. To meet National Park Service requirements and receive Historic Tax Credit, the team replaced all 250 windows in the building and the entire roof system.
There were other challenges. All the building’s wood columns, for example, had been painted or whitewashed, so the team had to remove all of the paint to return the material to its original state. The team also had to contend with the Mississippi River’s highest water levels in years while conducting a major dewatering process to prevent future mold.
Many historic elements remain—but with a creative twist.
“The windows in the building were old steel frame and sash windows. There were no thermal properties at all to them, so keeping them would have made this building difficult to heat and cool,” said Jeff Morton, owner and architect of Jeffrey Morton Associates.
The team received permission to replace the exterior windows but saved the originals, installing them in other areas throughout the building, like separating meeting rooms, workspaces and the boiler room. “We used those to divide spaces in a fun way and remind people of the original construction,” Morton said.
The role of J.P. Morgan in the renovation
Transforming a vacant warehouse into a state-of-the-art headquarters required not only a strong vision but also complex, sophisticated financing. That’s where J.P. Morgan played a critical role, providing Historic Tax Credit (HTC) and New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) equity to help fill the financing gap for the Voices Building project.
$5.2M
HTC equity investment
$2.3M
NMTC equity investment
HTC helps supplement the cost of rehabilitating a historic building. The NMTC program aims to stimulate economic growth in underinvested communities.
“We were excited to participate in the Voices Building rehabilitation because of the job creation and economic activity it was creating for downtown Dubuque. It felt like it would really be complementary and catalytic to other investments happening in the urban center,” said Kevin Goldsmith, Head of Tax Credit and Intermediaries at J.P. Morgan.
“I don’t know that this project could have come to fruition without J.P. Morgan,” Gronen said. “It was critical to help bridge the funding gap necessary to make the project cost-effective.”
The renovation’s community impact
The building includes four floors dedicated to Dupaco’s corporate functions and two floors supporting vocational training and community outreach. Other tenants include Mindful Bites, the Dubuque Museum of Art, the Crocus Foundation and Bicycle World.
“We were very deliberate in our planning to find tenants that would bring vibrancy to our downtown and Millwork District,” Gronen said.
The new headquarters has helped accelerate the neighborhood’s revitalization. Future developments nearby include apartment buildings and the University of Dubuque John and Alice Butler College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“The catalytic effect is immense,” Gronen said.
The firm’s investment in Iowa
As Dubuque has grown, so has JPMorganChase’s investment in the Hawkeye State. The firm has worked in Iowa since 1985 and opened its first brick-and-mortar location in 2023, with plans to add 150 new jobs and 25 new Chase branches by 2030.
“We are eager to listen, learn and support communities across the state of Iowa,” said Majda Hadzic, Market Director for Iowa and Nebraska at JPMorganChase.
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Visit jpmorgan.com/commercial-banking/legal-disclaimer for disclosures and disclaimers related to this content.
