Originally built to house the Roshek Bros. Department Store, many of the historic architectural features of the building's interior and exterior were covered or removed once the store relocated in the late 1960s and it was redeveloped into an office building. In 2009, IBM announced it chose Dubuque for its new global delivery center. Dubuque Initiatives, a nonprofit development company dedicated to downtown revitalization, hired Gronen to manage the overall project, including design, construction, tenant development, and rehabilitation according to the United States Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system.

 

The Roshek Redevelopment is the largest and most formidable sustainable project ever to take place in the City of Dubuque. From its inception, it was fast-paced and challenging, with only five months separating the start of the project and IBM's occupation of two of the five floors it was leasing. The project called for the complete overhaul of the building, including nine floors above grade, a lower level, and a sub-basement.

 

The rehabilitation has retained 61 jobs (lower-level tenants) and, at one time, added 1,300 high-tech jobs (IBM). It was the difference between Dubuque being a typical small city in a recession—suffering from high unemployment—and Dubuque ranking #1 in projected job growth in 2010.