(Shenandoah) -- Visitors are in Shenandoah to look into the possibilities of downtown redevelopment.
Five downtown revitalization specialists from the Iowa Economic Development Authority's Downtown Resource Center are conducting a community assessment through Thursday . Vision Shenandoah, the Shenandoah Chamber and Industry Association and the city cosponsor the assessment. Arriving in Shenandoah Tuesday, Mayor Roger McQueen says the team conducted a bus tour of the community, and a "walkabout" of the downtown business district. McQueen says the specialists also interviewed various community members.
"Some of the interviews started with some of the building owners downtown that are in the middle of renovation," said McQueen. "They also interviewed some city officials as far as the council, some city department heads, and like that."
The team's visit culminates with an exit report at a community meeting Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. at the Greater Shenandoah Historical Building's Delmonico Room. McQueen says the public is invited to the meeting.
"They'll basically give the findings," he said. "It's not going to be a final report, but they're going to be going over things that they've accumulated over the last day or two days, and give the citizens some kind of an idea of what they're looking at for our downtown."
State officials will issue a formal report on the visit in 30-to-40 days McQueen hopes the IEDA's visit will give the community direction on the future of the downtown area.
"I think this is going to be beneficial," said McQueen. "If they can get all this sorted out, and give a great report back in 30-40 days, I think it will be elected to find out what we need to look at for our downtown, and what we need to do to revitalize it."
In addition to the assessment's findings, the report will list the possible funding options available for any downtown revitalization projects. Specialists included in the five-person team include Jim Engle, the IEDA's Iowa Downtown Resource Center director, and Jim Thompson, the IEDA's downtown economic development specialist. You can hear the full interview with Roger McQueen here: