The 1105 Project in Iowa City celebrates $1.2 million in renovations

IOWA CITY - A community help center in Iowa City called the 1105 Project has gained so much attention since it opened in January, it's already filled its new building.

'Any place that's empty we fill it,” said Delaney Dixon, assistant executive director for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program.

The 1105 Project is a collaborative effort between the Johnson County Crisis Center, Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Free Lunch Program and National Alliance on Mental Illness of Johnson County, to bring all organizations under one roof at 1105 Gilbert Ct. in Iowa City.

After $1.2 million in renovations, the four organizations will welcomed the public on Sunday, September 7 for a celebration and ribbon cutting.

Renovations on the building started in fall 2012 and all of the organizations started working in the building by the end of January. The landscaping, pavement and finishing touches were fully completed this summer.

The area features a commercial kitchen, meeting spaces, offices, secured and confidential space for domestic violence victims and a large gathering and dining area.

Project leaders anticipate all four organizations to meet 45,000 individual service needs on an annual basis in the 1105 building. The groups used to provide about 38,000 services when they worked separately.

Ritter Ruback said each group has already felt the increase.

She said the Crisis Center built a meeting room for its coping with suicide group to meet privately, but with so much attention from the project, Ritter Ruback said the suicide group already outgrew the space and relocated to the 1105 Project boardroom.

'Of course we wish it was bigger, but we have completely filled it and it's working even better than we hoped,” she said referring to the collaboration between all four organizations in one space.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors sold the building to the crisis center for $1 in September 2012 and the City of Iowa City put $280,000 toward the project in Community Development Block Grants. The rest of the funding came from private and corporate donations and neighboring municipalities.

'Every dollar counted and made a difference, but it was slower than we hoped,” Ritter Ruback said. 'But we got it completed. The important thing is it's done and we met all the timelines for moving in.”