At Home in Dubuque

The Key City Iron Works Building located in the Historic Millwork District houses Delta 3 Engineering’s Dubuque, Iowa, office. Constructed of brick and heavy timber in 1890 as an industrial space, the former ironworking shop features an interior characterized by wood columns with exposed wood ceilings and brick perimeter walls.

Renovation began in the fall of 2018, and Delta 3 moved into the 3,962-sq.-ft. two-story portion at the end of March 2019. A pair of connected one-story spaces of 1,255 and 817 sq. ft. have also been built out to accommodate other tenants, business development, or future company expansion.

The Dubuque office in the revitalized building at 898 Jackson Street joins Delta 3’s Platteville, Wisconsin, headquarters at 875 S. Chestnut Street as bases for the firm’s operations. Specializing in civil and municipal engineering, structural engineering, grant writing, planning, land development, and mapping services, the company plans to add over a dozen employees to its current staff of 35 in the coming years.

Circa 1882, blacksmiths Frank Zehentner and Alexander Hodel formed Key City Iron Works. By 1890 the business had grown and the machine shop and foundry were built on the corner of 9th and Jackson. The building continued to be operated as Key City Iron Works until 1993 and is historically significant due to its continued operation. The building is one of the most important in the Dubuque industrial district and represents the 19th Century Functional architectural style per the Historic American Building Survey.