T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY— From left to right, Main Street Fort Dodge Executive Director Mary Green-Warnstadt, Marshalltown Central Business District Executive Director Deb Millizer, MCBD board members Jim Johnson and Travis Hornberg and Main Street America Program Officer for Revitalization Services Jackie Swihart participated in a walking tour of the downtown area on Thursday morning.
Main Street America Program Officer for Revitalization Services Jackie Swihart got a chance to visit several buildings in downtown Marshalltown as part of the re-accreditation process Thursday, and she was impressed with the efforts to breathe new life into historic spaces.
Flanked by Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) Executive Director Deb Millizer, MCBD board members Travis Hornberg and Jim Johnson and Main Street Fort Dodge Executive Director Mary Green-Warnstadt, who is a Conrad native, Swihart first took a tour of the Willard-Hopkins buildings at 34-36 W. Main St. with owner Janelle Carter.
Carter walked the group through the process of purchasing the adjacent buildings and ultimately creating 13 upper story apartments with the help of state and local grants. The Hopkins building at 34 W. Main St. is now the shared home of the MCBD and the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, and Carter is still looking for the right tenant to fill the old Willard’s space — her dream is a high-end coffee shop.
Otherwise, however, she’s crossed off the majority of the items on her punchlist, and most of the single bedroom and studio apartments — which have a decidedly vintage, big city aesthetic — have been rented out to tenants.
“We’re pretty well set up. The apartments are up and running. We’ve got the Chamber, which was a godsend to have them, and I think it’s just worked out really well. It’s nice to have the community coming in to meet in our building so they can see the restoration and see what can be done,” Carter said. “You see it in big cities, but you don’t really see it here.”
Willard-Hopkins building owner Janelle Carter, right, pictured with Hornberg, left, showed off some of the upper story housing that has been developed, including this “1930s New York City” themed apartment that overlooks Main Street.
From there, the team left Carter and made its way over to the former Gildner’s building at 26 E. Main, which Jeff Simms of Simms Construction is currently in the process of redeveloping with hopes to have it ready for a new commercial tenant next spring and also creating three upper story apartments. Swihart, who hails from Indianapolis, was shocked when she heard how affordable the units — a two-bedroom and two one-bedrooms — will be.
Simms said the ideal business would be something that would attract people to come to Main Street, whether it takes the form of a men’s clothing or sporting goods store.
“There are a lot of men like me that, we don’t really prepare for weddings or funerals ahead of time. We just go get a shirt the day before,” he said. “Do you really want to go to Jordan Creek or something? I’d love to come in here and just get a shirt or a belt or a tie. I would like that.”
As the mother of multiple boys, Millizer joked that she often encounters the same situation when they have a dance or another event requiring them to dress in their Sunday best. Millizer, Green-Warnstadt and Swihart then made a quick stop at Brit Marie’s Boutique before heading off to meet with city officials, and they shared their reflections on the day so far during a brief interview.
“It’s a really big downtown. There’s lots of opportunity with the built environments, and it’s exciting to see some of the projects that are already underway for housing downtown because it does feel very much like a community that you can live, work, play, do all the things downtown if you wanted to and had the opportunity to,” Swihart said.
Developer Jeff Simms, left, shows off some of the progress at the building he has purchased at 26 E. Main St. Also pictured are Millizer, center, and Swihart, right.
Millizer aimed to highlight the focus on bringing more upper story housing to the Central Business District and the continued revitalization of the area in the years since the 2018 tornado.
“I hate to keep going back to that time marker, but it was a reality that happened to our community. And we have some really positive things going on,” she said.
As she stood outside of Brit Marie’s, she commended owner Brittany Tow for moving into her new space and offering men’s clothing before mentioning the Hopkins-Willard and Gildner’s redevelopments as “catalysts” for further growth in the future.
“As we move forward with our Main Street reconstruction, having that upper story housing, having new streetscapes and having that is just going to add to the wonderful vibe and feel and welcoming atmosphere of downtown,” Millizer said. “So I just really wanted to show that.”
Green-Warnstadt, who has only been in her current position for a few months and is leading the Main Street organization in a community with its fair share of similarities to Marshalltown, hopes Millizer can serve as a strong collaborator and resource while she acclimates herself to the job.
“Deb is a great person to learn from. She has many years of experience here in Marshalltown, and it’s really great to see how this community has been transformed. I was here shortly after the tornado, and so I saw firsthand some of the issues,” Green-Warnstadt said. “I grew up going to Zeno’s and all that, so it’s been wonderful to see that transformation. Now, I have that personal connection here in Marshalltown to be able to learn from Deb and see what she’s doing to make Marshalltown a great place to live and work and visit.”
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Contact Robert Maharry
at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or
rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.
T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY— From left to right, Main Street Fort Dodge Executive Director Mary Green-Warnstadt, Marshalltown Central Business District Executive Director Deb Millizer, MCBD board members Jim Johnson and Travis Hornberg and Main Street America Program Officer for Revitalization Services Jackie Swihart participated in a walking tour of the downtown area on Thursday morning.
Willard-Hopkins building owner Janelle Carter, right, pictured with Hornberg, left, showed off some of the upper story housing that has been developed, including this “1930s New York City” themed apartment that overlooks Main Street.
Developer Jeff Simms, left, shows off some of the progress at the building he has purchased at 26 E. Main St. Also pictured are Millizer, center, and Swihart, right.
