Designs Unveiled for Manchester Riverbank Beautification Project

Plans have been unveiled for Manchester’s beautification project along the riverbank.

Of course, the Whitewater Park was a major improvement on and along the Maquoketa River over a decade ago – but there are still some areas that could use a little help and purpose. 

And it’s a project that Manchester Vitality Endowment is taking on – the latest of many projects that the group has been working towards these past few years. The group is already known for bringing the hanging flower baskets downtown, installing the ambient string of lights above South Franklin Street and bringing in a muralist to create the artistic scene on the side of the Honey Creek Furniture storefront. 

Manchester Vitality Endowment enlisted the help of four University of Iowa engineering students to help create designs that the group and the City could use to improve the Farmers Market area and a slice of land near the Marion Street Bridge that overlooks the river.

U of I environmental engineering student Sam Greiner of Cedar Rapids served as the project leader.

He breaks down what the Farmers’ Market area could look like with their design.

Other than the Farmers’ Market area, Greiner says the real draw to the site is the expanded trail network.

Their design also includes a pavilion on the north side of Manchester’s Main Street bridge by the riverbank.

Fellow environmental engineering student Daniel Scordato of Davenport says the second site they designed is the spot that overlooks the Manchester Whitewater Park on the northeast side of West Marion Street by the bridge. 

Fellow engineering students Lily VanderLinden and Connor Owsianiak also worked on the project, with Greiner noting that it was a good experience for their team – and one that will be fun to look back on.

photos courtesy of Janelle Tucker/KMCH