Uptown Marion Main Street director Brooke Prouty is leaving her position for a new role with Main Street Iowa.
Ms. Prouty, who started as Uptown Marion Main Street director in January 2017, is completing her tenure July 19. And her transition will be speedy – she begins her new position as a business specialist with Main Street Iowa July 22.
“They’re actually throwing me into the fire right away,” Ms. Prouty said. “We’re getting set up with the paperwork Monday, and on Tuesday we’re doing a volunteer day in Greenfield, because Greenfield is a Main Street district, and they have RAGBRAI coming.”
As the third-ever Uptown Marion Main Street director, and the longest-serving, Ms. Prouty said she has mixed feelings about leaving the role.
“It’s a big change,” she said. “I’ve been with Marion for seven and a half years, and I’ve been really close to everyone I worked with here. So in that sense, it’s a little hard, but there’s a lot of opportunity with this position, and I’ll get to work with communities all across the state and share some of the successes we’ve had in Marion.”
Ms. Prouty said the opportunity with Main Street Iowa arose in March when Robin Bostrum left her role as business specialist for a new position as director of Empower Rural Iowa.
Ms. Prouty said Uptown Marion has seen dramatic changes during her tenure, led by the completion of the initial phase of the city’s uptown streetscape project, including a dramatic revamping of Seventh Avenue and adjacent side streets, as well as a new North Plaza stretching from the Uptown Artway across Seventh Avenue.
The second phase, now under way, involves an extensive reconstruction of the Central Plaza and City Square Park, including a revamped Depot Pavilion, an ice-skating loop, a live performance space and other attractions. And a third phase includes plans for a South Plaza project adjacent to the new Marion Public Library.
“There has been so much change,” she said. “And I am really fortunate. Most Main Street directors don’t get to see the fruits of all their efforts happen while they’re there, because it’s \very incremental work. I’d say the highlights were getting through COVID and the derecho, and the streetscape project, (which) is probably the cherry on top, with how great that project has turned out and how beautiful the District is.”
Marion first became a Main Street Iowa district in 2013, led by the efforts of Marion Chamber of Commerce director Jill Ackerman. The Main Street program operates alongside the Marion Chamber, and the two programs share office space.
Ms. Ackerman said Ms. Prouty has been a “phenomenal and very humble” leader for Uptown Marion.
“She led us through the streetscaping project, which was a game changer for Uptown Marion but also could have been really detrimental to a lot of businesses,” Ms. Ackerman said. “It’s really hard when you have construction go through your downtown. Brooke led the team and kept everybody positive, and we didn’t really lose any businesses because of construction.”
Ms. Prouty was also responsible for bring the veterans banner program to Uptown Marion, Ms. Ackerman said.
Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly praised Ms. Prouty at the end of the July 18 city council meeting.
“Brooke has taken that organization to new levels, and she’s really been a great partner, for me personally when we were trying to save the (Marion Methodist) church, and through the streetscape project,” Mr. AbouAssaly said. “I don’t want to start naming things, because that would just undervalue what she’s meant to us. She’s been a great partner in every possible way.”
Regarding a successor, Ms. Ackerman said a number of applications were submitted for the Uptown Marion director role, and interviews with candidates should be completed by next week. She said she expected a new director would be named “in the next few weeks.”
Ms. Prouty said she plans to continue living in the Marion area, so she’ll remain close to the people she’s come to know in the area.
“You really become ingrained in a community, and I’m going to miss seeing our businesses and my coworkers and city partners and the people at MEDCO every day,” she said. “But the good thing is I get to continue to work in all the cities of Iowa, and Marion is one of them. I will be back, helping the new director in their role. It’s just been great to see the growth and to work with Team Marion. I don’t think I could have asked for a better team to see Marion through this transformative phase, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without everyone pulling in the same direction and being on the same page as far as the vision for Uptown Marion.”
The Main Street Iowa program, started in 1985, has driven over $2.5 billion in total private development invested into Iowa’s downtown structures, creating more than 5,000 downtown businesses employing an additional 16,000 people and assisting in over 13,000 building improvement projects. A total of 50 Iowa communities are part of the Main Street Iowa program.
“Utilizing the Main Street approach, communities capitalize on the unique identity, assets and character of their historic commercial districts,” Main Street Iowa promotional materials indicate. “The Main Street Approach consists of tightly integrated components making up a common-sense, strategy-driven framework that guides community-based downtown revitalization efforts. Locally developed strategies are implemented through comprehensive work in four broad areas, known as the Four Points: Economic Vitality, Organization, Promotion and Design. Assistance from the Main Street Iowa team includes training workshops, architectural and design assistance, business assistance, and a number of other technical assistance opportunities.”
