Iowa State University students presented their design ideas for Jefferson Monday afternoon in the Business Centre at Sierra Community Theatre. About 30 members of the community talked with the students about their projects.
The seniors and graduate students in the Retail Scapes studio class in the College of Design and visited Jefferson several times this semester with to identify and develop “design interventions” for public and private spaces.
They displayed their final projects, proposing ways to bring more visitors from Highway 30 to the downtown area, re-purposing of classic spaces like Angie’s Tea Garden, developing a bicycle corridor from the trailhead of the Raccoon River Valley Trail at the Milwaukee depot through downtown and to Wild Rose Casino, capitalizing on the Lincoln Highway, and more.
One project outlined a repurposing of the Greene County Middle School to an upscale housing development with a workout space with a pool, a convenience store and a coffee shop on the first floor, a total of 17 apartments on the second and third floors, and a green patio on the roof.
The students were not obliged to determine cost estimates for the projects. It was a time to dream, and that’s what they did.
A full report with all the projects will be sent to Jefferson Matters: Main Street to share with the city of Jefferson and the Greene County Chamber.
The Retail Scapes class involvement with Jefferson was a project of Jefferson Matter: Main Street, the Chamber, and Iowa State University Extension & Outreach.
