Grinnell College plans to raze damaged, vacant building at 1020 Main St.
Grinnell Sporting Goods and Grinnell Taekwondo now in new downtown locations
GRINNELL, Iowa – The building at 1020 Main St., which is adjacent to McNally’s Foods, received major structural damage when it was hit by a truck last spring.
Grinnell College owns the structure and plans to have it removed later in December due to the extensive damage. The college has helped two local businesses that previously were housed in the building find new locations in downtown Grinnell.
Grinnell Sporting Goods has moved a block south to 928 Main St. and Grinnell Taekwondo has relocated a few blocks away to 1102 Fifth Ave.
The college has no specific plans for the land at 1020 Main St., which is within the Zone of Confluence – an area between the campus and downtown business district targeted for redevelopment to increase its social, cultural and economic vitality. This new vibrancy, in turn, is designed to attract more students and local residents to the area, as part of the college’s endeavors to enhance the local community.
“Although the building wasn’t salvageable, we’re glad that we were able to work with the tenants to find new locations in downtown Grinnell,” said John Kalkbrenner, assistant vice president for auxiliary services and economic development at Grinnell College. “Keeping downtown healthy is what the Zone of Confluence is all about.”
Demolition of the one-story brick building at 1020 Main St. is expected to begin during the last two weeks of December. The college will provide more information about safety, parking and truck traffic before the work begins.
