Uptown Marion gets $100,000 grant to restore Davis-Draper building

Uptown Marion received a $100,000 Main Street Iowa Challenge Grant for the Davis-Draper Building from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the district said Thursday.

Owners Nikki and Dick Kettelkamp plan to restore the exterior and interior and fill the site with women-owned businesses from the retail, food and service sectors, according to the release.

The Kettelkamps have two years to complete the work, said Brooke Prouty, Uptown Marion’s director.

Work on the building will begin in two weeks, said Nikki Kettelkamp, who also owns and operates retail venues Scout of Marion and Scribe.

“As of right now, the plan is to have a business (retail/food) on the main level and then offer some leased office space in a portion of the upstairs,” she said in an email to The Gazette.

“Renovating century-plus old homes can lead to some surprises, so this plan could evolve a bit based on that,” she added. “... We hope to have at least some of the space ready to occupy by summer 2023.”

The historic building, at 610 10th St., on the corner of Marion’s City Square Park, has been vacant for two years since the August 2020 derecho.

“It's a beautiful property with some great history,” Nikki Kettelkamp said.

Then-U. S. Sen. Robert Kennedy was photographed in front of the building in October 1966 during a campaign stop for U.S. Rep. John Culver, father of future Gov. Chet Culver, to be born that January.

Funding will be distributed in the form of matching grants to the selected Main Street programs.

“Each project must provide at least a dollar-for-dollar cash-match,” Michael Wagler, state coordinator for the Main Street Iowa program, said in the release.