Create Your Anamosa works to rev up Main Street

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Fridays in Anamosa have a new tint - Raider blue.

The town's library staff had worn the school colors on Fridays, and then the business community along Main Street embraced the idea.

"It's about community spirit," said Jim Johnson, publisher of Anamosa's newspaper, The Journal-Eureka, and president of the Anamosa Chamber of Commerce.

It's a sign of the times for the town of about 5,500 people north and west of Cedar Rapids where a grassroots community effort called Create Your Anamosa is working to rethink what's possible now and in the future.

Anamosa residents rallied together to host thousands of Spandex-clad Iowa cyclists when RAGBRAI rolled through a couple years ago. That's no small feat, especially when the visitors out number the town's population by three or four to one.

The event got residents mobilized and the show of community coming togetherness got them thinking about how to push the momentum forward. That's the inspiration for the months-old effort called "Create Your Anamosa."

More than 70 people attended a kick-off meeting in August, which We Create Here helped facilitate, and a second Create Your Anamosa community meeting was held in September where the group refined broader topic areas that emerged in the first meeting. Participants are determined to not leave their ideas confined to meeting rooms.

"Having a project and working on a project as opposed to just sitting on a committee is what sets us apart," said Dusty Embree, director of Jones County Economic Development, one of the champions of the effort.

One of the first ideas the group set its sights on is vacant commercial space in the town's business district, largely along Main Street.

Walk along Main Street and you'll find a bistro, a hair salon, a coffee shop, a physical therapy studio, a tavern, assorted offices and other shops. But, like many communities across Iowa, downtown is also dotted with several vacant store fronts and not a ground swell of prospective investors.

Some can be an eyesore, but it is also missed opportunity.

The group decided on an idea that's been tested out in some other smaller towns, including Dyersville, Dewitt and Webster City: host a free public event centered around the vacant spaces.

They are calling it "Tour of Opportunity," which is 1-3 p.m., Oct. 26.

"The goal is getting people to see the opportunity," Embree said. "Even if they are local, they may not come down here very often. The goal is getting people in the buildings and seeing the potential."

As part of the planning, they inquired with the owner of a long-vacant space at 103 E. Main Street about plans. They learned the owner was interested in selling but never listed the property, Embree said. The offer is $14,995 for a building with 1,700 square feet of commercial on the main floor and two two-bedroom apartments on the second floor.

"It would really be a great opportunity, even if they did have to put money in, which they would need to do," Embree said.

The event will include eight spaces that are available for rent or lease, and another three business spaces that showcase the possibilities. For example, the owners of two downtown business live on the second floor of the buildings.

A real estate agent, banker and Embree with the economic development office will participate in the event to provide information about what financing might look like or what grants may be available. Around 25 people are volunteering to help with the event, she said.

Meanwhile, a complimentary piece is beautification of downtown. Embree said discussions center on possible locations for murals to cover up bare or rundown sides of buildings. At another space, they convinced a tenant to remove metal coverings over ground level windows on Main Street.

"Just getting rid of the coverings made such a difference," she said.

Johnson is spearheading another project that emerged through Create Your Anamosa - keeping the community informed.

The city doesn't have a public access channel, and public funding was cut for government to capture video of meetings, Johnson said.  In an effort to keep the community better informed, Johnson is working on a YouTube channel where volunteers can record and post community meetings such as school board, City Council or Board of Supervisors.

He's also helping coordinate an open-access community calendar that various organizations, including his newspaper will populate.

Other subgroups also continue to meet on topics, such as health and wellness, education and family programming.

The efforts are all part of preserving the small town charm and making their community what they want, Embree and Johnson said.