Muscatine — Driving through the Muscatine downtown area there are lots of brick buildings. One almost everyone knows sits at the corner of Iowa Avenue and Third Street. But this face of town sits empty. 304 Iowa Ave. was the location of the Musser Public Library until mid-2018, and since then the historic building has sat empty.
The Stanley Center for Peace and Security wants to change that. The company has plans in the works to purchase the building that sits catty-corner from their current location. If approved, the company plans to invest around $6 million to move their headquarters permanently to the location.
By Marcus SchuppAccording to Keith Porter, president and CEO of the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, work would start in the spring of 2021 and last around a year. He said “we are shooting for spring of 2022 to finish the project.” Potter went on to say a hearing would be held around Oct. 1st, if all goes well.
If the company gets all the approval it needs the Stanley Center could finalize the purchase by mid-to-late Oct. and begin to move forward in the process to begin work next spring.
The company plans on creating the state’s first “Living Building.” The most rigorous sustainability certification program available, “Living Buildings” must generate all their own energy, prove to be self-sustaining and benefit the natural environment. The new Stanley Center’s headquarters would represent only the second remodeled building to meet “Living Building” criteria in the world.
Communications Director Mark Seaman says there are many moving pieces and if they are approved there will be a lot more to share with the community.
Look for follow-up stories as we receive the latest on this developing story.
By Marcus SchuppThis story originally appeared on the Voice of Muscatine. Read More local stories here.
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