OUR MISSION
The mission of Grand Avenue Improvement Corporation is to preserve and enhance the residential and historic character of Grand Ave in Spencer, Iowa.
What is Grand Avenue Improvement Corporation?
Spencer Iowa's north residential district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1990), so its ongoing preservation and development is a delicate balance of past and present, driven by three primary goals:
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To make highlight Grand Avenue's residential district downtown as a thriving community – fiscally and culturally – without losing sight of its storied past.
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To protect, preserve and perpetuate the culture, ethnicity, history, heritage and architecture represented by Spencer’s historic districts and landmarks.
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To ensure that the objectives of Clay County's Historic Preservation Mission and all governmental regulations are met through readily accessible resources and information.
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There are several incentive programs available to help promote residential historic preservation and revitalization activities in the downtown district of Spencer, and each program has specific qualification and eligibility criteria.
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Provided within this website is a wealth of property listings, photos, links, maps and information on local, state and national preservation requirements and guidelines regarding the North Historical Residential neighborhood.
“The reality is that old houses that were built a hundred years ago were built by actual craftsmen, people who were the best in the world at what they did. The little nuances in the woodwork, the framing of the doors, the built-in nooks, the windows—all had been done by smart, talented people, and I quickly found that uncovering those details and all of that character made the house more inviting and more attractive and more alive.”
― Joanna Gaines, The Magnolia Story