Uptown grant reviewed by council

Changes to Uptown Creston are coming in the next few years thanks to the Comprehensive Neighborhood Revitalization Grant.

Creston City Council gave unanimous approval Tuesday for the Update Uptown Committee to go forward with a request to Iowa Economic Development Authority to update plans for the grant.

The city of Creston was awarded the $1.75 million CNR grant by IEDA at the end of July 2024, though planning for the grant started the year before. In order to apply, the city had to put forward a complete plan of how the money would be spent and how it would help the city. Creston competed against three other Iowa towns for this award.

Since being receiving the grant, Update Uptown has had to make various changes to the plans. UCDA Director Mindy Stalker shared these updates, including maps that showed changes in parking and sidewalk layouts.

“We shifted the bulk of the work from the south to the north side [of Adams Street]. The plaza, we kind of reduced what the plans were along Adams Street and kind of shifted them to the pocket park idea to the 120 N. Maple space,” Stalker said. “With those changes, the council would need to approve those changes to move forward with the plan, and then we would have to submit those changes to IEDA to amend our grant application.”

In the proposed plan, one of the entrances to the Restored Depot parking lot has been removed. This caught the eye of multiple council members.

“There’s currently three potential entrances/exits. We’re taking away one and now you want to take away another. We already have such congestion through there,” council member Jocelyn Blazek said. “I think some of us weren’t fans of getting rid of the third entrance anyway, so I don’t know that many of us are going to be fans of you taking another one.”

In March 2024, the council approved 4-2 a series of improvements to the Elm Street rail crossing, brought forward by the Iowa DNR and BNSF. One part of the improvement project included closing off the Elm Street entrance of the depot parking lot and installing a curb and sidewalk there instead.

Council member Steve Wintermute agreed with Blazek, adding that while he loves the look of the plans, this would reduce the parking lot to one entrance.

When looking at the possibility of a pocket park at 120 N. Maple St., the council was generally positive, agreeing something needed to be done with the space.

Southern Iowa Council of Governments Senior Planner Jeremy Rounds explained the project will likely go to bid over the winter, with construction beginning in spring 2026. The project would tentatively be complete in summer 2028.

Between now and then, many changes can still happen. With the council’s approval to approach IEDA with project changes, Update Uptown will continue refining maps and plans for the next few weeks.

As long as IEDA approves the changes from the original plan, the council will be asked to officially approve an amendment to the grant in a few months.

While various council members had changes they would like to see after Tuesday’s presentation, they all agreed Update Uptown was going in the right direction.

“I like the way this is headed,” Wintermute said.

Council member Kiki Scarberry agreed, adding that “everything you guys are talking about are things that we bring up.”