T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY A sign welcomes those entering to the newly created Edgewood Industrial Park on the northeast side of Marshalltown.

Marshalltown City Planner Hector Hernandez provided an exciting update to the city council on progress at the new Edgewood Industrial Park during Monday night’s meeting.

He came before the council to present a final plat of the long-awaited project, which accompanies the Edgewood Street extension and new truck route, for approval, with eight new lots that meet the requirements for general industrial use.

Councilor Mike Ladehoff asked Hernandez if passing the motion in front of the council meant the city could start selling the lots, and he responded affirmatively.

“We need the final plats and a preliminary so we can go ahead and send it to the county to get it recorded. That way, we can go ahead and proceed with the sale of the lots,” Hernandez said.

Mayor Joel Greer commented that he hadn’t been out to the new road to see the traffic going in and out, and Ladehoff remarked that it was “pretty nice out there.” Fellow Councilor Jeff Schneider shared his excitement about the progress and hoped it would serve as a catalyst for things to come.

“I’d just like to say that this is a momentous day for economic development in Marshalltown. I think in five years, we’ll look back, this place will be full, and we’ll be working on the next one, hopefully,” he said.

Councilor Gary Thompson added that he has heard “100 percent positive feedback” from truckers using the new road and said everyone is happy with the Edgewood extension.

“I haven’t heard one negative comment about the new corner, the new route, everything,” Thompson said.

Greer then joked that a semi could now be turned without entering the southbound lanes. A motion to approve the final plat carried by a unanimous vote. Directly after that motion, the council was already voting to set up a public hearing on the sale of one of the lots to Boost Run LLC at a price of $279,979. A web search indicated that Boost Run is headquartered in Chicago, but few other details about the company were immediately available.

A motion to set that hearing for the Feb. 12 meeting passed unanimously. City Administrator Joe Gaa commented that they initially thought the specific lot Boost Run was interested in buying would be one of the harder ones to sell, so he was happy to see it moving so quickly.

Earlier in the agenda, the council also approved rezoning the property at 201 E. Merle Hibbs Blvd., the site of the currently under construction Veterans Affairs clinic, from low density residential to general commercial by a unanimous vote.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.