Greene Chamber of Commerce recently issued the following announcement.
When asked a couple of weeks ago, as president of Greene County Development Corporation, if I would comment on the importance of the new high school/ academy as it relates to economic and community development, I began to think of not only the future value that these facilities will play in economic and community development, but the role they have already played.
I was reminded of this as we held our Greene County Development Corporation annual meeting.
Executive Director, Ken Paxton, shared a video of projects that have been completed during just the last year, which got me to thinking of projects that have happened since the passing of the school bond issue. Just to mention a few: Wahl McAtee building, Jefferson Veterinary Clinic building, crematorium, Natural Wonders Learning Center, plans for a new Animal Shelter and dog park, the announcement by Heartland Bank of their plans to build a new building, Sebolt Wrestling Academy, and the addition of a second veterinary clinic, Companion Veterinary Clinic of Greene County; improvements to buildings around the square that include Sensibly Chic, The Forge, The Tower View building, now temporary housing for Heartland Bank and will be the home for a new co-working space, Angie’s Tea Garden, The Public House Restaurant that is still in the early stages of development, and the renovation of the Pizza Ranch building into three new and separate spaces for future business opportunities.
Also, included in the video were some housing projects. Not including the several new single-family homes that have been built in Greene County, housing projects include the three new fourplex units built by Andy Rowland near St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the White House Apartment Project, which will include 12 new living units, the continued work on the repurposing of the Middle School building into 25 living units, and several second story downtown building ideas that are being researched.
Following the video presentation, three speakers gave presentations about exciting new projects that are either in-process or where a substantial amount of research and investment have been made to hopefully lead them to completion.
Tracy Warner, CEO of Greene County Medical Center presented information on the expansion of Ever Greene Ridge into a continuum of life facility which would be a replacement for the long-term care floor of the present hospital building; Nate Adams, a developer from Des Moines, discussed the repurposing and development of the Middle School building into 25 rural luxury apartments, and the development of a green space south of the building into a future park and outdoor recreation area; and Chris Deal informed of us the new co-working space, Gravitate, that is under construction in the downtown building just west of The Forge, together with some renderings of how the second floor of that building can be converted into second story housing.
While it is difficult to say that all of these projects are the result of the investment by Greene County into the new high school and career academy, I can say with some degree of certainty that the new high school and academy are a part of nearly every discussion that has led others to invest in these projects.
Greene County Development Corporation is proud to have been a small part of the creation of the new state-of-the-art Greene County High School and Career Academy. With our focus on economic development we are aware that the three most important factors that families look for in a new community are the school system, day care, and health care.
For our rural county to grow, we must attract young families and the new high school will be the single most important asset in that effort.
We now not only offer a superior education but also a leading-edge performing arts center and one of the most complete gymnasium facilities in the region. Other community development efforts have and will continue to use this as a base for future growth efforts.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the project was coordinating a county-wide effort, headed up by our young community leaders. After struggling to pass the first two school bond proposals, our young families and leaders took charge of the project and enlisted the support of our local organizations and community groups. Key to this success was the significant financial support from the Greene County Board of Supervisors, and Grow Greene County.
These contributions made our performing arts center and the Career Academy possible without additional tax burdens on the community.
Additionally, the City of Jefferson has supported the project through such things as street and sidewalk improvements and the extension of utilities.
The new high school and Career Academy will provide well educated future employees for our growing business/manufacturing community, technology jobs to support the Forge and the growing need for technology in precision agriculture, new employees for our growing medical facilities, skilled craftsmen for construction needs, and badly needed employees to support our hospitality businesses. These needs exist today, not to mention the desire to attract other like business and industry to our region.
For the past several decades there has been a gradual decline in population for rural Iowa communities.
The education that can now be provided through the relationship of Greene County Community Schools and Iowa Central Community College will greatly assist Greene County in reversing our trend and hopefully provide an educational environment where young families will want to live.
We are extremely fortunate to have this asset to build from.
We have to, however, ask ourselves, is the new high school and career academy enough? Do those facilities provide a quality of life that not only retains our own students to stay and raise a family, but is it enough to attract other young families to move here? With the educational component complete, does our focus now need to move towards community development of other amenities that will complete a rural living package to market? Greene County Development Corporation believes that the Three Block Project, which is now in the early stages of discussion, provides such an improvement. These three blocks extend from Lincolnway, south to Madison Street. Included in this project would be an indoor water recreation facility as an attachment to the Community Center for small children, the repurposing of the Middle School building into apartments, a new/expanded location for the Greene County Early Learning Center, and a green space covering the large area south of the middle school building to provide for various types of outdoor recreation for all ages.
GCDC wishes to thank our young community leaders and all our groups and organizations for their support in making the high school and career academy possible. The governor has often said that Greene County is a perfect example of how a rural community can succeed when everyone works together.
Courtesy of www.beeherald.com
For more information contact:
Ken Paxton
Greene County Develolpment Corporation
ken@greenecountyiowa.com
515-386-8255
Original source: https://www.greenecountyiowa.org/gccd-development-news.php#!/Detail/id:37
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