The Argos Town Council members reviewed changes made by The Troyer Group for the proposed downtown square project.
The Argos Downtown Square project will be located at the corner of E. Walnut St. and S. Michigan St. and is a part of the Marshall County Crossroads Regional Stellar Communities Initiative. Grant dollars with a local match will help pay for the improvement of the site.
At a meeting in August, town council members reviewed a few design concepts with several changes proposed. Mike Reese from The Troyer Group presented colored renderings to the council that features a train depot building that can be rented for community or private events, a performance stage, downtown plaza, feature elements, Farmer’s Market space, flex use lawn space, lounge chairs, proposed parking improvements and sidewalks.
They preferred a welcome arch instead of a water feature in the concept they liked the most which was approved by both the council and the Argos Park Board members.
Reese noted that the changes are within the budget for the project.
The new design was approved by the town council members. It was noted that the residents of Argos stepped up to help provide input toward the project which makes it a true community effort to improve this area of Argos. With the approval of the design, the environmental process can begin. Priority Project Resources Grant Writer Shannon McLeod will work on those reports with public hearings to be scheduled for that purpose in October. The paperwork will be finalized for the grant which will be submitted in December with an award notification in February. The town is guaranteed grant funding for the project, but officials still have to follow the grant application process to obtain the funding. If everything goes smoothly from there, the project will be advertised for bids in April with a bid award in May, and a notice to proceed to construction in June.
