116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Marion shows off new $28M Public Works facility
Building replaces ‘structurally deficient’ facility for city equipment and workers
Sep. 24, 2024 7:23 pm, Updated: Sep. 25, 2024 7:33 am
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MARION — The gear that repairs streets, clears ice and snow off roads and picks up garbage in Marion has a new — and improved — place to call home.
Marion’s new $28 million public works building, a project that’s been in the planning stages for years, was shown off Tuesday with tours and a ceremony.
More that 40 Public Works employees will report to work at the facility — which also includes a safe room that can be used as a command center in emergencies and an office that can withstand a beating from severe weather. The department is in charge of a variety of city services, including recycling and yard waste, street repair and maintenance, traffic control, street cleaning, snow and ice control, street signage and storm and sanitary sewer maintenance.
“This project has been talked about and we’ve dreamed about it for, I’m sure, as long as I’ve been on council — which is a long time, about 12 years, or 13 years,” Marion Mayor Nicolas AbouAssaly said at the ceremony. “We set the example for ourselves and for the community when we invest properly in buildings, and this building is right so we’ll be able to grow into it and be able to serve the community from here for many, many years.”
The new building, at 202 44th St., is 144,000 square feet — about the size of two and a half football fields. Previously, the department worked out of a facility a few miles west at 195 35th St. where city vehicles were stored in a “structurally deficient tent,” according to Mike Barkalow, the Marion public services and utilities director.
The former facility will remain as the location for recycling and yard waste drop off for the foreseeable future. Barkalow said the recycling center eventually may be moved closer to the new public works facility, but that change is far in the future.
The new building has extra space for storage and fleet maintenance, including 61 parking bays, six equipment wash bays, eight vehicle service bays, five vehicle lifts and dedicated fabrication facilities. It also has a 3,000-square-foot safe room, an office made from precast wall and ceiling concrete components to stand up to severe storms and a geothermal system to provide long-term energy savings.
The building was financed through the city’s special revenue and road-use tax funds and the solid waste, sanitary sewer and stormwater enterprise funds that are funded through city utility bills.
Conlon Construction was the general contractor for the project, and Shive-Hattery provided architectural services.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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