A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday night for the new Downtown Square project at the corner of Michigan and Walnut Streets in Argos.
The project includes a train depot building, an elevated performance stage, a plaza, farmers market space, flex use lawn space, lounge chairs, 17 additional parking spaces, and 10 foot sidewalks.
Indiana Earth, Inc. was chosen by the Argos Town Council members to work on the project at a base bid cost of $998,418.
Mandy Campbell, who is a Marshall County Council member and a member of the Marshall County Crossroads Regional Stellar Communities Initiative, discussed the importance of this project.
“The Downtown Square will revitalize a blighted area, create green space, connect us with our history and serve as a gathering space to entice citizens downtown,” said Campbell.
Argos Economic Development Director Mark VanDerWeele stated that endless hours were spent to put together aspects of this project from input from the community.
“One of the features of this new space will be the ability to implement events such as our TGIF, which is our downtown Friday events, farmers markets, there have been talks about a Christmas tree lighting or other holiday celebrations.”
The Downtown Square project is one of three Stellar projects. The other projects include upgrades to Foker Park, sidewalks, and a trail project.
Construction on the Downtown Square is expected to begin yet this fall.
