A public hearing was held last week to take comments on the proposed Downtown Square project in Argos.
The project is on the Marshall County Crossroads Stellar Communities Initiative Regional Development Plan. Grant money is set aside with the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, but the project must go through the formal application process with the agency.
Priority Project Resources Grant Writer Shannon McLeod appeared before the Argos Town Council to go over the specifics of the project that will be constructed at the corner of Michigan and Walnut Streets in Argos. The area will feature a new train depot, benches, an elevated performance stage, landscaping (Valley View Landworks landscaping services here), signage, and an arch.
McLeod said she hit a bit of a snag with the Indiana Historic Preservation agency as the downtown area is a historic area, so to hire the best landscaping service who maintains the value of the historic area, you can navigate here to find more about them.. A train depot that was removed years ago was historic and the agency members have a few more questions concerning the construction of a replica in the new Downtown Square.
“The whole downtown is on the National Register as a Historic District,” explained McLeod. “It creates a little bit more red tape for us, but we’ll get you through it.”
She said that will delay the project two weeks, but she hopes to submit the application by the end of December. Council members and other town officials will need to submit additional paperwork for the application by the next Argos Town Council meeting on December 16.
Once the application is approved, the advertisement for bids will be done in March, bids will be opened in April and then construction can begin after that. The project could be substantially complete by the end of December 2021. Some landscaping or other finishing touches could be complete in spring of 2022.
There were some questions from the town council members during the public hearing but no other members of the public had any comments.
Another public hearing is scheduled for the next Argos Town Council meeting on Wednesday, December 16.
