MAQUOKETA, Iowa — After 16 years of waiting, the space left by the 2008 downtown Maquoketa fire is being transformed.
The Maquoketa Betterment Corporation is raising funds to build permanent facilities on the green space. The site has been used for the city's summer concert series and other activities for years, but amenities like a stage, accessible restrooms and a kids' play area will make it official.
People involved in the project held a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday afternoon, where they revealed plans for the space and gave the community a chance to ask questions.
City Council Member Mark Lyon said the project is just one of many making downtown Maquoketa a destination after the fire.
"We did downtown streetscape, we've redone all the infrastructure, we've done façade programs on both sides of Main Street," Lyons said. "So you've seen a lot of a new look a new feel a vibrancy downtown. We've got- we've added additional things like a breweries and restaurants and so it's really become quite a destination."
The green space project has already raised $900,000, but it still needs roughly $460,000 before it goes out to bid. Visit the project's website to make a donation. Donors can choose to sponsor different elements of the green space in return for a dedication. These include benches, trees and lamp posts.
Mayor Tom Messerli was at the scene of the fire in 2008. He was a fire truck operator at the time.
"When we pull into the fire station to leave, you could see the flames coming over the roofs," Messerli said. "And we all thought it was gonna be a long, long night — and it was. And it was like 14 below zero."
As firefighters sprayed water on the burning buildings, the street and their uniforms were coated in ice. It took departments from across the county and beyond sending firefighters and water tankers to finally extinguish the fire.
After the fire, rubble wasn't cleaned up for three years.
"Clean up was was quite a- quite a project that was contaminated with asbestos," Messerli said. "And there's all kinds of rules to get through, there's lack of insurance to get things cleaned up, and miles and miles of red tape."
But over time, the people of Maquoketa made the best of the space.
"We started using it for events, we had a temporary stage put up, we started having summer concerts, and things like that," Lyon said.
The city uses the lot as a venue for the Maquoketa Summer Concert Series, where musicians play every Thursday of the summer. It also holds Maqtoberfest there, the local version of Oktoberfest. Residents use it as a gathering space for church services and kids' activities.
"Fast forward to now, it's like, you know, what we need to do is sort of make this a permanent attraction," Lyons said. "So what we're doing now is we're starting the fundraising effort."
With community donations, the Maquoketa Betterment Corporation hopes to finish fundraising by the end of the year. Bids are anticipated to go out in December, with construction beginning in spring 2025.