Nov-2017

210 211 B usiness ViewMagazine first spoke with Tom Treharne, the Planning and Development Director for the City of Marion, Iowa, in Octo- ber 2016.At that time, he talked about some of the ongoing projects in this metropolis of 40,000, located about sixmiles northeast of Cedar Rapids.We caught up with Treharne recently for an update.The following is an edited transcript of our conversation: BVM: When we talked, last year, you mentioned the Central Corridor Project, a $20 million project with improvements such as pavement, sewers, sidewalks, street lights, trails, and streetscaping,which is set to revitalize and expand the city’s downtown area, which is actually called “Uptown”by the locals.How is that project going? TREHARNE: “It’s an exciting time to be in Marion. We’ve welcomed a number of new businesses to the Uptown District in the last year. Several new pubs and boutiques have energized our community’s core, and we have a few new restaurants coming online as well.There’s been a noticeable difference in the atmosphere Uptown. “The Central Corridor Project as a whole is a multi- MARION, IOWA PROJECTSAPLENTY MARION Iowa AT A GLANCE MARION, IOWA WHAT: A town of 40,000 WHERE: East central Iowa, near Cedar Rapids WEBSITE: www.cityofmarion.org