Newstrack: Marion still seeks Art in the Alleys

Background

MARION — In an effort to spiff up some of the alleys in uptown Marion and bring more foot traffic to businesses in the area, the city kicked off its ImagineArt in the Alleys project about a year ago.

The project would transform the areas between Seventh and Eighth Avenues and 10th and 11th Street into public walkways and gathering spaces, adorned with pieces of art commissioned specifically for the project.

What's Happened Since

ArtPlace America, a group of several large business foundations and financial institutions, picked this project as the first in Iowa to receive grant support, awarding it a $350,000 grant. Marion also contributed $320,000 in bonded money.

The project is estimated to cost $770,000, City Manager Lon Pluckhahn said. The redesign of the alleys became necessary, Pluckhahn said, because of the Central Corridor Project, an infrastructure initiative which will shift the city's main flow of traffic between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Once construction begins on Seventh Avenue, Pluckhahn said, access to businesses on that street will be cut off.

While the Art in the Alleys project aims to spruce up some of the city's ugliest crevices, it also will serve as an alternative entrance to the businesses on Seventh Avenue.

'We took what was going to be a very plain, straightforward, vanilla project and turned it into something I think is really going to be a world-class project,' Pluckhahn said.

ImaginArt in the Alleys is one portion of Marion's overall plan to improve the streetscapes of its uptown to make the area safer and more attractive for motorists and pedestrians.

But the project hit some roadblocks. An initial bid for construction work came in more than double the engineer's estimate, so the project was extended by one year.

The city and Shive-Hattery, the Cedar Rapids engineering firm, reduced the scope of the infrastructure portion of the project to accommodate the budget. The city plans to rebid it in December.

Pluckhahn estimates construction will begin in April with a completion date of December 2016. Final plans for the project show it will have pedestrian lighting and eight pieces of artwork.

The artwork was selected from submissions of 80 regional and national artists.