DOVE HARBOR

Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald

DOVE HARBOR. In a letter to the city council, the Dubuque Dock Board in 1959 stated its intent:

                 All in all we are working for an industrial
                 area which would be completely filled in and
                 ready for customers because we have found we
                 cannot close a deal by showing a swamp. (1)

The statement summarized the reason for the board's work in the "Area A" between LAKE PEOSTA and the 7th Street channels. The board was not spending $127,094.08 to provide just FLYNN READY-MIX CONCRETE COMPANY a channel near the foot of 12th, but also to other industries interested in locating there. The contract awarded to the Midwest Dredging Company of Newport, Minnesota called for dredging 439,629 cubic yards of fill, mostly in the 7th Street Channel between 9th and 11th where an industrial harbor would be built. On the Lake Peosta side, a 2,600 by 400 foot channel to the channel of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER would be dredged out. The fill would be spread on the northeastern end of the 81 acre area. (2)

Ninth Street, then at a dead-end at Pine, would be extended through the former INTERSTATE POWER COMPANY and PEOPLES NATURAL GAS property being acquired by the city. Fill would provide a roadway for the street extension that would connect with Kerper Blvd. Plans called for only 37 acres of Area A to be immediately developed. Thirteen additional acres were nearly ready for development after a minimum of fill was brought to the site. (3)

The development of Area A began as the site was gradually filled with material pumped from the river by a city-owned dredge. The site, however, could not be readied in time to meet the needs of firms looking for large industrial sites. This led to the development of Area B as an industrial park through a $2 million bond issue. (4)

The city was faced at the same time with the need of a place to receive material dredged from the municipal harbor. Negotiations with CARADCO which owned a tract of land south of Jones resulted in a trade of property. CARADCO acquired an equivalent area between E 11th and 12th. CARADCO also wanted a site on the proposed 7th Street channel extension to permit the ship of raw materials. The water inlet to CARADCO was needed before September 12, 1967. Other firms announced their interest in small riverfront property, and the Flynn company wanted land for a concrete plant. (5)

Unlike its policy in Area B, the Dock Board did not sell its rapidly-in-demand Area A land. The property was leased so that the income could be used for further development. (6)

In September, 1960 the Dock Board approved the purchase of two acres in Area B by the ARBOR TOOL CORPORATION OF IOWA, a tool and die firm. The Dubuque Recreation Commission was granted free of charge a a recreational area at the north end of Area B near RIVERSIDE BOWL for softball fields as long the area is not needed for industry. It was decided this would be the site of a relocated RAFFERTY FIELD. (7)

In 1967 the 7th Street Industrial Harbor was officially renamed the Charles E. DOVE Industrial Harbor by the Dubuque City Council. The recommendation was made by the Dock Board to honor the former MAYOR, council man, and executive of Interstate Power. (8)

12th Street Peninsula Industrial Harbor

The completion of the filling in Area A and the extension of 12th Street to access it, along with two streets branching off Kerper Blvd., led to the creation of the 12th Street Peninsula Industrial Harbor. In April, 2020 city officials estimated that the annual revenue from the lease of 65 acres of industrial riverfront property would leap from an estimated $140,000 in fiscal year 2008 to an estimated $2.8 in fiscal year 2021. The same officials said the money would provide "a cushion" to offset expected financial losses fro a global recession caused by the PANDEMIC. (9)

In March, 2021 it was announced that the city of Dubuque was partnering with Gavilon Grain to spent $8.4 million for upgrades to the harbor south of Kerper Boulevard. Gavilon provided storage, handling, transportation, marketing and distribution of feed, food and fuel on an international basis. The goal of the work was increasing the site's shipping capabilities and provide more direct access between river barges and rail freight. Among the improvements anticipated were upgrading rail track, install new rail equipment, renovate a storage shed to increase capacity and relocate rail track to support direct supply transfers from trains to barges.

The city of Dubuque applied for $6.8 million to fund the project. (10) The Department of Transportation offered $5 million and Gavilon committed to paying the remaining $1.8 million. (11)

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Source:

1. Shively, Neil, "Land Makes Better Impressions than Swamps," Telegraph-Herald, January 25, 1959, p. 3

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. "OK Factory, Softball Sites," Telegraph-Herald, September 27, 1960, p. 1

8. "At 7th Street, It's Now 'Charles Dove Harbor," Telegraph Herald, May 2, 1967, p. 6

9. Barton, Thomas, "Some New Leases on Life for Dubuque Taxpayers?" Telegraph Herald, April 11, 2020, p. 1A

10. Kruse, John, "City Seeks Federal Infrastructure Grant for Port Improvement Project," Telegraph Herald, March 23, 2021, p. 2A

11. Fisher, Benjamin, "Dubuque to Receive Grant for Port Infrastructure," Telegraph Herald, June 26, 2021, p. 5A