After more than two years in the works, a groundbreaking was held last Wednesday, July 21, at the Marion Enterprise Center (MEC), which will open up nearly 300 acres of shovel-ready industrial ground on the eastern edge of Marion.

The new business park is located just east of the Hwy. 151 and Hwy. 13 intersection, near the Marion Airport. It consists of 184 acres of land owned by the Marion Economic Development Company (MEDCO) holding company, as well as 35 acres owned by Waldo Morris. An additional 75 acres of industrially zoned land in the area will open up with an extension of Third Ave. through the area.

MEDCO's plan is to install roads and utilities on it and Morris's properties, then offer it to industrial and commercial businesses looking to either locate or relocate in Marion. In April 2009, the Iowa Transportation Commission presented Marion with $1.3 million of a $1.8 million Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy (RISE) grant, which should pay for about two-thirds of the streets in the MEC, according to MEDCO President George Lake.

Speaking at the groundbreaking, MEDCO Chair Dave Martin explained that the impetus behind the MEC was to provide a place for industrial businesses along 7th Ave.'s brownfield-designated land to relocate. These businesses, such as Marion Iron and Prince Agri Products were at one time on the edge of Marion but have since become closed in by the city's growth.

The MEC will also give the city a chance to attract new businesses, helping to shift Marion's tax base, which is currently 75 percent residential. Lake has also said that the city could see potentially upwards of $5 million in new taxable value.

Roads and infrastructure are currently being installed at the MEC site, and it's expected to be open for businesses by fall.