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Uptown Marion director highlights $60M in private investment, new business support and events
Summary
Lacey, director of Uptown Marion, told council the downtown district saw about $60 million in private investment, nine net new businesses and 468 volunteer hours in the past year; she outlined a pivot from business attraction to retention, a new Visibility Lab project, an Art Walk and a quarterly business-growth support grant.
Lacey, director of Uptown Marion, presented an annual update at the Feb. 17 Marion City Council work session that emphasized business retention, volunteer engagement and public events as pillars of downtown recovery.
She told council the district reached a milestone of roughly $60 million in private investment over the past year and netted nine new or expanded businesses. Uptown Marion tracked about 468 volunteer hours — a figure Lacey said she expects to rise as the organization improves tracking — and hosted more than 30 community events, including new programs and partnerships with local schools and the Marion Heritage Center.
Lacey outlined a strategic shift away from aggressive business attraction toward retention and expansion, with practical supports such as five-year planning help and business coaching. She said Uptown Marion will pilot a quarterly business-growth support grant that pays for business coaching rather than direct start-up capital, reasoning that coaching builds sustainable capacity.
New initiatives include a Visibility Lab (a student-driven media and marketing audit) and an Art Walk with elementary-school artwork installed in storefront windows during the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day and the City Arts Festival. Lacey credited strong local partnerships and noted Uptown Marion’s participation in Main Street Iowa programming.
Council members thanked Lacey for the update and discussed coordination with other city efforts such as parking-task-force work and signage to help visitors find available parking. Lacey said Uptown Marion participates in regional Main Street director calls and benchmarks with peer communities to import ideas.
