March 29, 2024

Downtown design ideas to be showcased Tuesday

An open house to view and discuss preliminary designs for downtown Newton is planned from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at city hall.

Consultants Bolton & Menk of Des Moines will be back to show a design concept it put together after gathering feedback from the public during the first Downtown Historic Preservation open house, which was held in June.

“This is something to describe and show visually what they heard at the public input meeting in June,” Director of Planning and Zoning Erin Chambers said. “These plans are not by any means final designs. They are meant to be a first round concept design for public review and comment.”

A presentation is planned for 6 p.m. followed by an open house in the hallway of city hall. There, community members will have an opportunity to leave messages on comment boards and participate in live polling to give feedback on the initial design. All ages are welcome to attend and feedback and ideas are wanted.

Chambers said feedback from the first open house showed strong desire for a public gathering space downtown.

“If you grab a sandwich at a local restaurant and you want to eat outside, a space to do that was desired,” Chambers said.

Contributors at the last meeting also wanted to see a uniform look for downtown buildings, she said.

“A lot of comments that altogether will improve the walk-ability of the downtown, the look and feel of the downtown and the use-ability of the downtown,” Chambers said. “Also, making an area of the downtown ideal for closing down the street and having a ‘festival feel’ on those occasions ... so it doesn’t just feel like a street with barricades.”

Downtown is roughly described as the area from East Fourth Street to West Fourth Street and the eight block around the square, Chambers said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com