Fairfield Chamber
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Fairfield Economic Development Association

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Officers

Brent M. Willett - Executive Director - bwillett@fairfieldiowa.com
Pat Doyle - President, Director
Pat Albregts - Vice President, Director
Craig Foss - Treasurer
John A. Morrissey - Legal Counsel

Directors

David S. Reiff
Royse J. Huff
Ross G. Walker, Jr.
Dick Smith

 

Ex-Officio

John F. Brown - City Administrative
Ed Malloy - Mayor
Chris Kabat- Chamber President-Elect

Since 1977, the Fairfield Economic Development Association (FEDA) has been a cornerstone in our community's building process.

FEDA is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors that works closely with local community development organizations, financial institutions, businesses, industries, as well as agencies and elected officials in local, county, state and federal government.

Here are some of the activities and programs that make FEDA the foundation of development in Fairfield:

 

Financing Help

In 1992, FEDA set up a tax increment financing (TIF) district and piloted a 63-lot subdivision called Park Place. The lots were designated for single-family dwellings and duplexes; they sold for below-market rates, from just under $3,000 to just over $5,000, to individual owners with the provision that construction begin within a year of closing and be completed within two years. The subdivision sold out within a day, and today its $100,000-$200,000 homes contribute between $5 million and $6 million to the local tax base -- helping the city to finance projects like a new recreation center, a new public library and a new indoor swimming pool.

Park Place subdivision is just one example of how FEDA brings parties together for the good of the community. Three area banks -- First National, Iowa State and Libertyville Savings -- created a $1.65 million real estate loan pool to offer attractive mortgage rates and terms to Park Place buyers.

FEDA has also spearheaded a second subdivision called Woodside Circle, which is being developed using the same approach. Of its eleven lots, over half are now sold, and several $60,000-$150,000 homes have already been built.

Business Retention & Expansion

FEDA devotes a great deal of time to business retention and expansion. For example, the Association assisted long-time corporate citizen Harper Brush Works in its relocation to the former Granitech Building, located in the 100-acre Fairfield Business and Industrial Park.

Speaking of the Business and Industrial Park, FEDA worked to develop this area, located on Fairfield's West side, as a convenient site for manufacturing and service business facilities. The Park still has a number of developed and undeveloped 1.8- to 17.4-acre sites available.

The Association is currently working on another business park, having acquired a tract of land on the South side of town.

Bringing Properties Back Online

A high priority for FEDA is to bring back into productivity those properties and facilities that are not in commercial use because of environmental issues. Right now the Association is working to clean up the former Iowa Malleable site, which was vacated when the foundry went bankrupt.

In addition, FEDA has recently taken on another role, to take a more proactive approach to community development: to enhance Jefferson County's solid agricultural base, the Association is working with the Iowa Governor's "Ag Initiative 2000" to explore value-added agricultural development with the State Rural Enterprise Program.

With all the programs and activities of the Fairfield Economic Development Association, its mission is entirely appropriate: Building Fairfield Into the Future.

For more information on FEDA, contact the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce, 204 West Broadway, Fairfield, IA 52556. Phone (641) 472-2111. E-mail Brent M. Willett - Executive Director - bwillett@fairfieldiowa.com