Marion’s Central Plaza in City Square Park received the Signature Project Award during the 2026 Main Street Iowa Development Awards on May 7, one of the program’s highest honors for projects with exceptional impact beyond traditional award categories.
The recognition came as part of Main Street Iowa’s 40th anniversary celebration. Eighteen projects across Iowa received development awards at the ceremony, while 45 recipients were honored with leadership awards for contributions to local Main Street programs.
The Central Plaza project transformed a key block in Uptown Marion into a year-round gathering space with an ice-skating loop, live performance area, interactive water features, public art and flexible event amenities. Organizers cited the project’s impact on downtown vitality, multigenerational design and collaborative leadership.
Uptown Marion nominated the Central Plaza as a comprehensive placemaking project representing years of redevelopment, partnership and investment in the district.
“When viewing the significant changes over time, and the challenges overcome, recognizing the redevelopment as a whole as a Signature Project seemed appropriate to our team,” said Carol Lilly, state coordinator for Main Street Iowa. “There have only been seven of these awards given out since its inception in 2012.”
Community representatives from Uptown Marion, the City of Marion and local project partners attended the ceremony.
Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debi Durham, who addressed the gathering, noted the program’s growth over four decades.
“Local leaders, volunteers and business owners continue to invest in their downtowns and create places where people want to live, work and gather,” Ms. Durham said. “Tonight’s award winners reflect the creativity, collaboration and commitment that continue to move Iowa communities forward.”
Ms. Lilly said the 40th anniversary framed the evening as both a retrospective and a look ahead. “The milestone provided an opportunity to reflect on the program’s strong foundation while looking ahead to the future of downtown revitalization across the state,” she said.
