Setting and maintaining a good, positive tone before and during the upcoming Main Street reconstruction is valuable. That was an important tip shared during Tuesday evening’s Surviving Streetscape Panel held inside the Black Box Theater at the B.A. Niblock MCSD Orpheum Welcome Center. Three people — Nevada City Councilman Steve Skaggs, Nevada business owner Evie Peterson and Main Street Iowa official Brooke Prouty — shared their streetscape experiences and provided insights with roughly 30 attendees.

Prouty said that if a customer comes downtown and a business owner or employee is complaining, it creates a bad experience and will not result in a return visit.

“The worst thing you can do is discourage people from coming downtown during construction,” she said. “You want to keep people coming, you want to keep them interested. Construction is interesting, especially to little kids, so the more you can engage them, the better.”

Emphasizing how great Main Street will look after everything is done is something Prouty stressed. The reality is businesses that speak negatively about the project will ultimately hurt their own business, she said.

“That’s money they are losing from the cash register,” Prouty said. “We had some businesses that would hold each other accountable. If they heard another business was talking badly about the project, they would go talk to them because they knew how important it was. Downtowns are reliant on each other’s business. If they go to lunch, they will go to retail. If you can work together, everyone is going to be better off.”

Skaggs recalled that one Nevada restaurant was having a bad time, and it reflected in their communication about the project. Businesses banded together and did a promo for that restaurant.

“Everybody go in and get a margarita and a thing of nachos, make them have a good day,” he said. “Little things like that help out.”

Insights

As the event was hosted by the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, President/CEO John Hall served as the panel moderator and asked the panelists to describe the scope of the streetscape projects and how long they lasted. Skaggs told him the Nevada Main Street began in 2020 and lasted 12 months.

“It seemed like five years at some point, but we did get through it fairly quickly,” he said. “It was a full facade streetscape.”

The Nevada project stretched six blocks and included sidewalk reconstruction, road resurfacing, underground infrastructure utilities, lighting replacement and decorative elements, Skaggs said. Peterson added that the alleys were also redone after the main part was complete.

“It was nice the way they did it,” she said. ” . . . The way they worked it in stages was helpful. We weren’t completely closed off all the time.”

Prouty was the former Marion Main Street director before joining Main Street Iowa. She told Hall that the Marion project was three blocks and stretched from storefront to storefront. A parking lot was turned into a plaza. It took two years to get the street and plaza finished, Prouty said. Because of the way it was reconfigured, the downtown did not lose any parking spots, and there was actually an increase in the number of handicapped spaces.

Hall asked if any surprises were encountered. Skaggs said a huge storm hit Nevada when everything was dug up, and some basements got flooded. Prouty said every project will have surprises. For example, some buildings in Marion were old and the foundations began to crumble, but the contractors were able to work with it.

“Something is going to happen, and your timeline is going to be affected,” she said. “It’s all about rolling with it. It sounds like you have a really great team here that is able to mitigate some of those issues.”

Prouty did bring information on what businesses and property owners can do to prepare for the construction, such as updating their websites. She suggested that people take photos of merchandise and properties beforehand. That way if the construction process causes damage, such as rocks being thrown, a person can have proof for insurance.

Getting to know the contractors will be valuable. Not only will people get to know the project, but the crew can also become customers.

“Especially if you’re a lunch place. They have to eat, too,” Prouty said. “If you can offer specials to them, the project will go smoother than you expect.”

Peterson owns a coffee shop and said to maintain foot traffic, she expanded offerings, such as a morning cup of coffee in exchange for a reduced lunch or take-and-bake supper.

“Diversifying and taking the opportunity to increase that price-per-person when they come in, adding those teeny things,” she said.

Communication

Having a system of communication with customers, local organizations and neighbors is important. Prouty told attendees they should do as much communication as possible, from email updates to attending meetings.

Skaggs said they talked to building owners immediately and shared updated contact information with the city and agencies. That way, no one would be able to say they did not receive project updates.

Peterson said she wished she would have trained her staff to have better knowledge and appreciation of the construction project. Even though she knew what was happening, they did not and they might have been as excited as she was.

After the projects were finished, the panelists said residents of the Nevada and Marion communities were happy with and prideful in their new downtowns. Skaggs and Peterson said Nevada residents quickly wanted more, such as trees, sidewalk seating, flowers and speakers for music during events.

Prouty would see Marion residents take visitors to the Main Street to show it off.

“They would say, ‘This is my community. This is where I go to hang out. These are my stores,'” she said. “Just that sense of pride in your downtown was uplifted. That (was something) we didn’t see hardly at all before the project.”

The project

Construction on the first phase of the Main Street reconstruction project, on Center Street from State to Church, is slated to begin next week and should reopen by mid-August. The second phase will begin once the first is finished and should be done by the end of 2025.

It will include full street and sidewalk reconstruction from Center Street to Third Avenue and on Center from State to Church streets. The water mains and storm sewer underneath the pavement will receive full replacement.

Also planned are new streetscape amenities, such as trash receptacles, bike racks, planter pots seeding areas, standing tables and benches, downtown lighting and back-in angle parking on the south side of Main Street, the west side of Center Street and the east side of Center south of Main. A gateway arch on the east end of downtown is also being considered.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.