Plans for Cordova Center at Lake Red Rock made public

Imagine a state-of-the-art environmental, cultural and entertainment center on the shores of Lake Red Rock, a place to spend a day or a week, with a focus on the Des Moines River watershed. That is the hope of a consortium of educators, conservationists and state and federal agencies, and the groups have been staging a series of informational meetings to unveil their plans. One such presentation was held at the Newton DMACC campus on Wednesday morning. The Cordova Center, an estimated $50 million project along the northern shores of Lake Red Rock, would create an interactive, multi-use learning center near the park’s existing observation tower, as well as an outdoor amphitheater, additional cabins, a larger picnic area and an extension to the lake’s Volksweg Trail. The partners, including the Marion County Conservation Board, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Central College and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, have been working on the project since 2002. Federal funding through the Des Moines River Greenbelt allowed contracting with architectural firm VOA for the project’s architectural and exhibit components of the Cordova Center in a way that connects people with nature and encourages stewardship of the area’s natural resources. The total project includes several components encompassing a large portion of Lake Red Rock’s north shore. The Environmental Learning Center, planned to cover 70,000 square feet on a bluff near the observation tower, will draw visitors into the story of water as they explore how a watershed works with the help of a variety of interactive exhibits and displays. A cafe, indoor studio theater, 400-capacity meeting and banquet hall, a creative arts space and gift shop will also be housed inside the center. A new four-mile extension of the existing Volksweg Trail will wind through prairie and woodland along the north side of Lake Red Rock to connect Cordova Park to other parts of the lake and Pella. Steve Edwards, Marion County Conservation Board director, said he hopes the trail will eventually wind its way north to Monroe to connect with the Monroe to Prairie City trail along the former Iowa Interstate Railroad bed. An Outdoor Performing Arts Amphitheater, planned for the area directly to the east of the Environmental Learning Center, will host 400 people in formal seating for plays, concerts and other events such as weddings in conjunction with the banquet hall in the Learning Center. Other features planned for the Cordova Park area include a 10,000 square foot Events Plaza, providing a scenic vista of the lake; seven additional three-bedroom rental cabins, and a 200-capacity picnic shelter to accommodate large school groups, reunions and corporate events. Project partners plan to advocate for the $50 million in funding to construct all project components and will develop a foundation to assist in funding for the center’s operations and maintenance. Edwards said the groups wanted to have some definite architectural plans in place before they began the search for funding sources. “We’ve identified several funding sources, including state and federal agencies, Vision Iowa is a possibility, and private donors,” Edwards said. A completion date of 2012 is estimated, but Edwards said the various components could be accomplished in a series of phases as funding becomes available.