Historic Marion church’s transformation progresses

MARION — Work continues to transform a historic Methodist church into a residential hub in Marion with an opening expected later this year or early next.

Interior demolition of what will become the Bell Tower Lofts is now complete, according to an update at this week’s Marion City Council meeting. Exterior tuckpointing will begin this month on the historic structure at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 12th Street.

The site plan calls for 55 rental units, as well as common spaces such as a mail room, leasing office and shared exercise area.

“It’s been an incredible amount of work that folks have done to get things to where they’re at now,” said Darryl High, owner of High Properties. “We’d like to be done in (2025) … but we also don’t want to rush things, so it could be the first quarter of 2026.”

  Buy Photo

Built in 1896, the longtime First Methodist Episcopal Church most recently was home of the Pentecostals of Greater Cedar Rapids. It sustained severe damage in the 2020 derecho and was nearly demolished before being purchased by Dubuque-based Conlon Construction in 2022.

Conlon opted to use the property for residential development, and project leaders received site plan approval from the Marion City Council in March 2024. Construction began last summer, and much of the work since has focused on the interior of the building.

High said construction crews encountered several surprises — both good and bad — during those initial phases.

It was discovered that portions of the building had suffered termite damage, for example, which required additional remediation.

  Buy Photo

But the process also uncovered the structural bones of the building and provided crews with a unique architectural canvas upon which to finalize interior layout and design plans.

“As we did the demo, we continued to uncover some really cool historical features and things we’d like to keep,” said Bryan Kubik, director of strategic initiatives at Conlon Construction. “It’s like peeling back the layers from new to old and finding out that the old (way) was actually even better.”

Crews also were able to recover the church bell that in 2020 fell from the top of the bell tower all the way to the building’s basement as high winds from the derecho battered the tall structure.

  Buy Photo

Project leaders are planning what to do with the bell and how it can best be used to honor the church’s history. Ideas range from building a stagnant display outside that would allow the bell to still be rung to incorporating the piece into a wishing well for passersby.

Outstanding portions of the project include additional tuckpointing and other exterior repairs, as well as interior framing, the installation of plumbing and electrical systems and more. In total, the project is expected to cost roughly $11 million.

In 2023, the City Council approved nearly $2.6 million in federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds for the project, and developers received another $650,000 in tax credits from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

At a work session Tuesday, Marion officials expressed excitement about progress made on the project so far and anticipation for its completion. Project leaders said they are working to complete construction in a timely manner while maintaining historic integrity.

“This is not a project for amateurs. It’s not just going in, adding some paint and fixing some drywall,” High said. “They’re doing this in a way that 100 years from now when we’re all gone, that church will be standing over there tall and proud.”

Comments: grace.nieland@thegazette.com