Project Overview
The City has initiated the kick-off of its Streetscape Master Plan project in Uptown Mount Vernon, IA. This plan will serve as a vision for the future design of Uptown for 1st Street from 3rd Avenue SW to B Avenue SE, as well as the adjoining North Alley area.
The historic Uptown area serves as Mount Vernon’s downtown and central location for some of the city’s most popular and beloved community events, including Chalk the Walk. To ensure the history and natural character of Uptown is preserved, this Streetscape Master Plan will identify ways to enhance and improve existing conditions in this area without losing its unique identity to the community.
How Can I Get Involved?
Public and stakeholder feedback is essential to ensuring the final recommendations and proposed designs reflect the values and needs of the community of Mount Vernon.
The City encourages all residents, users, and business owners to take the Uptown Streetscape Master Plan Project Survey to provide your input and feedback to the project team.
Business owners and Uptown stakeholders have been invited to attend a stakeholder workshop meeting on Wednesday, April 24th from 5:30-7:30pm at Mount Vernon City Hall. At this workshop, attendees will be able to participate in the design process and share their priorities for a future streetscape design with City staff and project team members. The City will also be hosting the Uptown Stroll, a walking tour event, for the entire community to attend on Saturday, April 27th from 1:00-5:00pm. If you plan to attend this event, please stop by Mount Vernon City Hall first during this time to get started on your walking tour and enter in a chance to win some fun prizes! All residents are invited to attend this event and volunteers will be able to provide assistance walking up and down main street for those who need it. Explore the history and character of Uptown through this exciting walking tour!
A final project open house meeting will be held during the afternoon of Saturday, May 4th in conjunction with Chalk the Walk. Final draft design concepts will be presented at this meeting. All residents of the community are encouraged to attend and provide their feedback to the City about the proposed designs and any other concerns or ideas for the future of Uptown’s streetscape. Please continue to check this project website for the latest updates and news about the Mount Vernon Uptown Streetscape Master Plan project and these upcoming events.
What is a Streetscape Master Plan?
When completed, the Streetscape Master Plan document will provide a set of design guidelines for future improvements to the area, as well as concepts that illustrate these improvements to the public realm of downtown Mount Vernon. The recommendations of the Streetscape Master Plan document will be based on community and stakeholder feedback to ensure their values and needs are reflected in the final plan. This will include informed designs and improvements that accurately reflect how people and vehicles get around Uptown, parking, landscaping, furnishings, public art, event space, and more.
How Will My Business Be Impacted By This Plan?
During the development of this plan, access to your business will not be impacted at all. This initial planning phase does not include any construction or final engineered designs. During this first phase of the project, project team members will only be identifying potential improvements and design guidelines for future built projects in Uptown. Once the plan has been completed and formally adopted, the City will then be able to start the design phase where projects are identified, funding sources are acquired, and bids are sent out for construction.
As the City continues to develop the Plan, feedback from business owners and the public will be used to help decide what projects are possible and realistic within the planning area. When projects have been identified in the second phase and construction is gearing up, more information will be shared with business owners to ensure access to their stores remains open and readily available to customers.
If you are a business owner in the Uptown area and have questions, please contact Lori Boren, Assistant City Administrator.
Special Thank You to Our Project Advisory Team
To ensure community values are represented throughout the project’s lifespan, a group of key stakeholders have been assembled by the City to serve as an Advisory Team. This team will meet frequently with project team members to discuss project updates and progress.
- Trude & Rick Elliott – “First Street Community Center (Dance Arts Iowa)”
- Tommie Ouverson – Fuel Art & Espresso
- Olivia & Josh Randall – Bauman & Co
- Amanda & John Rhomberg – Causeteam
- Jake Krob – Mount Vernon Bank & Trust
- Tom Wieseler – Mayor
- Mark Andresen – Councilman
- Anna & Luke Wilson – Glyn Mawr Winery – The Local
- Mariah Andrews – Plantiful Pantry
- Kelly Yock – Yock’s Landing
- Lori Boren – Asst. City Administrator
- Leigh Bradbury – City Planner
- Joe Jennison – Director of Main Street and Marketing
- Casey Krall – Community Development Group
Contact Information
Public and stakeholder input is extremely important to the project, and all residents, users, and business owners of Uptown Mount Vernon are encouraged to participate in this project to provide their input to the project team.
For more information about the project or to share your feedback with the planning team, please contact Lori Boren, Assistant City Administrator at lboren@cityofmtvernon-ia.gov or (319) 895-8742.
