Marion celebrates completion of Central Plaza with ribbon cutting

Ominous thunderheads bearing the threat of rain couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd gathered at Marion’s City Square Park Wednesday, May 7, to celebrate the completion of the city’s Central Plaza project with a ribbon cutting.

“This event is the culmination of many years of hard work and a collective belief and a bold vision to not only take Marion's cool factor up a notch, but also to make uptown Marion the living room of this region, and that has been our dream,” Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly said, calling Central Plaza the city’s “crown jewel” among its extensive list of economic development projects over the past five years. The project “was born out of a long-term vision to reimagine the traditional park in the square into an active or attractive show piece where residents and visitors can gather to enjoy unique amenities and experience community,” he added, recounting the many discussions held over the years on how to transform the city’s “most visible” yet “most underutilized” spot. The $8.35 million project, which broke ground a year ago, transforms the City Park area into a key community gathering space with the addition of a refrigerated ice-skating loop, live performance space, interactive play sculpture, enclosed Depot Pavilion, public art, seating and year-round restrooms, along with other improvements. To accomplish this transformation, a portion of the park’s eastern area was reconstructed, along with a vacated portion of 11th Street. The project is part of the overall Uptown Marion revitalization project, which includes the North Plaza and Seventh Avenue Streetscape. Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority Debi Durham took the podium to praise city leaders for their vision.

“(City leaders) saw an opportunity to reimagine the park as a unique place that gives people a reason to stay, connect, and spend time; a place where families will gather, children will play, and friends will meet for coffee, and neighbors will enjoy live music and community events,” she said. Touching on the $3 million Destination Iowa grant Marion received for Central Plaza, Ms. Durham said the IEDA was “proud” to support the project. “We saw the promise in this project, because when our people thrive, our communities thrive, and when our communities thrive, it raises the profile of Iowa. It attracts new visitors, businesses and residents alike,” she said. In recognition of the mayor’s support for the Central Plaza capital campaign, Marion Parks and Recreation Director Seth Staashelm presented him with a plaque featuring a repolished and sandblasted railroad spike. The spike was recovered from the former railway where Sixth Avenue now runs. "The mayor helped raised $822,000 of our $1.3 million through his various asks throughout the community," Mr. Staashelm wrote the CBJ in an email. "He has been an inspiration leader and biggest cheerleader for this project." The Central Plaza joins a growing list of economic development accomplishments for Marion over the past five years, which include the new library building, fire station headquarters and the YMCA and Community Rec Center. RDG Planning and Design was the design firm for the Central Plaza project, and Rinderknecht Associates was construction manager.