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Building through the winter

There’s plenty of construction on East College Drive in Marshall these days, as businesses build and expand

Photo by Deb Gau There’s been lots of building activity on and near East College Drive this year, and the work has continued through the fall and into December. The First Independent Bank building on Market Street is raising a taller profile now, with a two-story building expansion project.

MARSHALL — East College Drive is a busy street under normal circumstances. But this year, there’s been even more activity than usual. There have been several different construction projects started along the street over the course of the past year, and a few are still underway, including construction of a new fast-food restaurant, renovations at the former site of the Marshall municipal liquor store, and expansions at Western Mental Health Center and First Independent Bank.

While it was a positive thing to see new construction on East College Drive, it’s also unusual to see so much of it going on in December, said Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce Director Brad Gruhot.

“You don’t think of this time of year as a peak time for construction,” Gruhot said Wednesday.

One of the newest buildings going up along East College Drive will be a new Mexican restaurant — right next door to the Marshall Taco John’s location. A sign posted in front of the construction zone announced that a Taco Bell will be “Coming Soon” to Marshall, and on Wednesday, the Taco Bell corporate website included positions in Marshall in its listings of available jobs.

The site where the new restaurant is being built had been vacant for several years, after the old Panda Buffet restaurant closed in 2009. The old building was demolished in the summer of 2015.

On the other side of East College Drive, another formerly vacant property is also having work done. Construction is ongoing at the old Marshall municipal liquor store building, which was sold at auction in February. The city put the store building up for sale after the new Tall Grass Liquor store opened in Marshall.

Brad Meulebroeck, the new owner of the former liquor store building, said he will be leasing space in the building to tenants.

Some of the construction going on along or near East College Drive started over the summer, projects at Western Mental Health Center and First Independent Bank are continuing to make progress.

Renovations at First Independent are adding a second story and expanding the building to allow more room for offices and work space. The second level is currently underway, said Stan Holmberg, senior vice president at First Independent and manager of the Market Street bank location.

“Yesterday they began setting the rafters,” Holmberg said. Windows will also be installed over the next few days, he said.

The building expansion will allow First Independent to move its Information Technology department from Russell to Marshall. There are more options for phone and Internet service in Marshall, which will help provide a backup if service is out for one provider, he said.

Holmberg said construction at the Market Street location is running behind schedule, but the project should be completed in summer 2017. In the meantime, the Market Street bank location remains open for business.

Further west on East College Drive, the building housing Western Mental Health Center’s former administrative offices was demolished in late May. The old building is being replaced with a new, two-story building.

“Things are moving forward really well,” WMHC Director Sarah Ackerman said of the new building’s progress. Construction on the exterior of the building is nearing completion, and Ackerman said the project is still on track to be finished in spring 2017. In the meantime, Western Mental Health Center has been able to continue serving its clients.

Ackerman said the new building will have more space for both WMHC staff and clients.

“We’re going to be able to expand and offer new services,” Ackerman said. Part of the plan will be a pharmacy area, to better serve clients. In addition to the new building, construction at Western Mental Health Center includes a new, larger parking lot.

Construction along the East College corridor didn’t start with WMHC and First Independent, either. Within the past year, a new Casey’s gas station and Caribou Coffee have both opened at locations along East College Drive.

“It’s definitely a good thing,” Gruhot said of the activity on East College Drive. There are a few factors that help make the street an attractive place for business construction or expansion, he said.

“That road is probably the busiest in town. It’s not far from (the SMSU) campus, it gives great visibility,” Gruhot said. Being close to the new Red Baron Arena and Expo and the people it would bring to Marshall could be another positive factor for an East College Drive location, he said.

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