The Carroll City Council is beginning to take the feedback received from the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s (IEDA) downtown assessment last November and create preliminary plans to put a plan into action. City officials met yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon with Downtown Resource Center team members to discuss how the city can be more involved in the central business district. City Manager Aaron Kooiker says the council and IEDA staff honed in on two primary goals, starting with the downtown’s appearance.
While nothing has been finalized, Kooiker says they are looking to complete two “demonstration” projects to showcase what can be achieved when businesses, the city, and the IEDA work in concert.
A challenge for downtown has been the former JCPenney building, which has sat vacant since 2020. That empty stretch is finally coming to an end, as the building will soon be the new home of Fusion Dance. Kooiker says their other priority is ramping up marketing for downtown and the community as a whole.
He adds that the downtown area has a lot to offer, but they need to do a better job of ensuring people outside of Carroll know to visit. Tuesday’s meeting was just a preliminary discussion on what these programs and projects may look like. Kooiker says he is optimistic they will have something ready for council approval yet this spring.
