T-R PHOTOS BY LANA BRADSTREAM — The former Mexican restaurant at the corner of Center and State streets has received a facelift in the form of a new roof, windows and paint.

As some downtown Marshalltown buildings have received some repairs for 2018 tornado damage, others are still waiting with fences surrounding the property to discourage anyone from going inside or red stickers labeling the facility as condemned.

Those last properties are still a focus of the Marshalltown Housing & Community Development Department. However, Director Michelle Spohnheimer does not predict the bigger downtown eye sores will be gone before the end of the year.

“There is a possibility we are nearing the end of them, but most are still sitting there,” she said. “Some of the owners, we have not gotten in touch with, but we have been finishing up the tail end of this the past few months.”

Other downtown building owners have made progress in repairing or demolishing the structures damaged by the tornado. One example is the former Mexican restaurant on the corner of Center and State streets. Spohnheimer said she does not know if there are any plans for a tenant for that building, but has seen workers give it a new, yellow paint job, working on the roof and replacing the windows.

“We sent the owner notification that he needed to continue to make progress,” she said. “They’ve been hard at it this last week.”

A city crew member waters the plants at the new parking lot south of the Tremont on Main Street on Monday.

Some larger condemned downtown buildings are also waiting on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds. That is taking a long time, and it is unknown how much longer it will be before any demolition takes place.

“We requested those come down with the derecho assistance,” Spohnheimer said. “I hope we will get approval soon, but I really have no clue.”

Getting FEMA approval for a demolition requires some reviews, she said, such as environmental and historical.

“FEMA oversees everything, which adds in extra time,” Spohnheimer said.

Other buildings are not waiting on FEMA. At 101 W. Main St., Spohnheimer said the city owns that property and is waiting on development of the demolition now.

“We are working with a contractor to propose the specs and let it out to bid,” she said. “They have to do asbestos so we do not know if we will see that down by the end of the year, but we hope to have a contract by then.”

Spohnheimer hopes to see some significant progress in demolishing the buildings in the early part of 2022. Once that is accomplished, she foresees a facelift of sorts for downtown Marshalltown. However, while the city waits to move forward on some structures, other building owners are working to improve. The Zaragoza family which owns the building has been improving the facade, which is a focal point as it is on the corner of Main and Center streets, and right across from the Marshall County Courthouse.

Progress on the courthouse has been slow, but is ongoing and new general contractor Breiholz Construction of Des Moines is leading the way. Scaffolding has come down and many of the debris in the yard has been removed. The county plans to replace the grass after the area is cleaned.

South of the Tremont on Main Street, the city has built an improved parking lot which is aesthetically pleasing and allows rainwater to be soaked into the ground. City personnel are frequently seen at the parking lot conducting maintenance on the plants.

Plus, Spohnheimer said there are hopes for pocket parks throughout downtown. One is being built right beside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

“Downtown is definitely going to have a different feel,” she said.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.