State grants boost Marion, Hiawatha projects

CEDAR RAPIDS - Access to planned commercial developments in Hiawatha and Marion will be improved with state grants approved Tuesday by the Iowa Transportation Commission at its monthly meeting in Cedar Rapids.

The commission approved a $351,312 grant to reconstruct 1,314 feet of Stamy Road on the north side of Hiawatha from Tower Terrace Road toward Kacena Road. The grant to the city of Hiawatha will improve access to 25 acres of private land for future industrial, manufacturing, distribution and warehousing projects.

Hiawatha will match the $351,312 grant for the project under the RISE (Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy). The project is expected to help in the creation of 150 future jobs.

A RISE grant of $363,818 was approved to help build 1,700 feet of Tower Terrace Road in Marion from Third Street east to 10th Street on the northwest side of town. The project will provide access to three lots totaling almost 12 acres for commercial office development.

Marion City Administrator Lon Pluckhahn said the development sites are in the vicinity of a planned relocation of ESCO Energy Services from downtown Marion to the north side of the city. He said it will be the first major commercial development in Marion north of 10th Avenue, and “the first real opportunity to create jobs along with the rooftops” in the mainly residential area.

The city of Marion will provide the 50 percent local match for the $727,000 project, which is expected to assist in creation of 210 future jobs.

Allen Merta of Priority One, the economic development agency that prepared the applications, said he wasn't aware of projects immediately slated for either property, but he believes both have strong development potential. Ace Aossey owns property in the Hiawatha area, while Mooney-Engle Land Company owns property in the Marion area.

The commission also approved a $287,891 RISE grant to the city of Dubuque to help create turn lanes on U.S. 61 and 500 feet of new roadway to provide access to 50 acres of industrial property in the Dubuque Regional Airport Industrial Park. Another RISE grant, worth $350,000, was approved for Palo Alto County to fund road improvements for better access to the site of a cellulosic ethanol plant proposed by POET just south of Emmetsburg.