Iowa City receives $200K grant to revive Ned Ashton House

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has awarded the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department a $200,000 grant for ecological and recreational improvements at the historic Ned Ashton House.

The Ned Ashton House, at 820 Park Road, was built in 1947 by Edward L. “Ned” Ashton as a private residence. Ashton was a professor of civil engineering at the University of Iowa from 1943 to 1957 and designed several bridges over the Mississippi River.

He has been called “the most distinguished bridge engineer in the history of Iowa” and “a pioneer in the design of welded plate girder bridges,” the city said on its website.

The funds will be used to plant native trees and prairies at the Ned Ashton House. The grant also will go toward installing paved and soft-surface trails, benches, a water fountain, a bird blind, a fire ring or grill, landscaping lights, a stone entry column and a bicycle rack and repair station on the property.

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The project is expected to take place during summer 2024, said city Parks and Recreation Director Juli Seydell Johnson.

The project will be completed in partnership with Project GREEN, an Iowa City-based nonprofit that invests in public landscaping and promoting environmental awareness. The group has volunteered to work with Iowa City in rebuilding the Ned Ashton House grounds and gardens since 2011.

“These improvements will benefit local, regional and statewide park visitors by restoring and strengthening a public forested area in a mature urban neighborhood close to Iowa City's urban core,” a news release this week said.

The house and its grounds, next to the Iowa River, were named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The property was damaged during the 2008 flood.

Iowa City purchased the house in October 2011 to restore it for use as a special events facility. As part of the requirements to purchase the home, the city agreed to develop a plan to preserve the historic nature of the home and prevent it from future flooding.

The city applied for the REAP grant in June and announced the award Tuesday.

Iowa DNR dispersed the money through the Resource Enhancement and Protection program that invests in the state’s natural and cultural resources. The program is funded through the state’s Environment First Fund and the sale of natural resource license plates. The program’s budget this year is about $12.5 million.

Over 34 years, REAP has supported more than 19,900 projects throughout Iowa with nearly $350 million in state investments. Johnson County alone has benefited from $12 million of these funds.

This marks the 14th REAP grant Iowa City Parks and Recreation has recently received. Iowa City was awarded a REAP grant in 2015 to help restore landscaping and gardens at the Ned Ashton House.

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com