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Washington Evening Journal
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Slowly but surely, former IW campus moves forward
Buildings from the former university begin to regain purpose
MT. PLEASANT — While the future seemed questionable when Iowa Wesleyan University closed its doors in May 2023, the diligent work of Mt. Pleasant Community School District and two new nonprofits, three buildings on the campus show progress toward new purpose. The purposeful use of these buildings moving forward, however, did not come without difficulties.
In October 2023, Iowa Wesleyan University transferred ownership of the historic Harlan-Lincoln House to the brand-new nonprofit Harlan-Lincoln House Incorporated. The Harlan-Lincoln House had to temporarily close its doors while these details were sorted as it had previously run under the umbrella of the University.
Acting as a new independent 501[C]3 the museum was able to keep its doors open to the public and continue the mission of preserving and promoting “the house and it’s contents, to share with the public this heritage site for its relevance to the James Harlan and Abraham Lincoln families, and to explain the significant impact of these prominent American families who offered vital leadership for the life of Iowa Wesleyan University, community of Mount Pleasant, state of Iowa, and our nation,” according to board member Paul Juhl.
Just across the road, the former Iowa Wesleyan University Chapel received a breathe of new life thanks to a purchase of the central campus by Mt. Pleasant Community School District completed Jan. 5.
MPCSD purchased the entire block of the central campus including the Howe Athletic Center, Holland Student Union, P.E.O. Building, Old Main, Pioneer Hall, and the university chapel for $1,135,000. Superintendent John Henriksen and the board thought this was a great deal as “it would cost probably 30 times that to build new facilities.”
Even so, many of the buildings needed renovations before the district could use them for any purpose. Among repairs needed were many in the chapel including a broken truss, roof fascia, soffit, gutters, and downspouts. The estimate of these repairs came in between $75,000 and $125,000.
Carl. A Nelson Construction quickly got to work on the chapel repairs, though, in the meantime, the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra had to find a temporary new homebase as the structure was not deemed safe to continue their rehearsals and performances.
According to Henriksen, the chapel initially had seven inches of deflection due to the broken truss on the West side. After jacking up the truss, the work crew was able to recover four inches of that.
Deflection, according to Structural Engineer is defined as a bending of a structural element, such as a truss, when subjected to external loads or forces.
“So, they took C-Channel Steel and they put it on both sides of the bottom truss and then put it together with bolts going all of the way through and wrapped it with steel banding, as well,” Henriksen shared during a school board meeting update.
After all this work, the site superintendent informed Henriksen that the deflection was reduced to zero.
While the truss on the other side of the chapel did not have a broken truss, the work crew did add steel to that one to for reinforcement. By early June the truss work was completed, and the jacks were removed as the crew moved on to ceiling repairs.
With repairs continuing successfully in the Chapel over the summer, MPCSD was able to sign a leasing agreement with the SEISO just in time for RAGBRAI to roll through Mt. Pleasant July 26. The agreement gave the orchestra a space in Old Main located next to the chapel. Additionally, the SEISO was able to return to the Chapel to perform for RAGBRAI after initially vacating their traditional performing space in October due to “mechanical problems.”
Moving forward, Henriksen hopes to see new life continue in the chapel with concerts from not only SEISO but also the MPCSD bands and choirs.
Located just behind the Chapel and Old Main, the former Iowa Wesleyan University Raymond J. Chadwick Library also progressed from an uncertain future, to a hopeful one this past year. A new regional nonprofit organization known as The Belle Center Inc. purchased the building at the beginning of the year. While the Chadwick once acted as a space for students to find resources and a quiet place to work, the building will now welcome nonprofits and entrepreneurs for similar purposes.
While the hope was always to provide a coworking space in The Belle Center, the journey to this was not easy. With the closure of Iowa Wesleyan University, taking over one of their buildings came with obstacles, for The Belle Center this came in the form of zoning.
After purchasing the building, The Belle Center Inc. reached out to the City of Mt. Pleasant to request an ordinance amendment for flexible business space. This request stemmed from The Belle Center initially being located in an R3 Multiple Family Dwelling District zone which allowed for only 100% philanthropic and educational purposes. While The Belle Center does wish to assist nonprofits and provide educational services, the dream was much more as their mission is to provide “rural southeast Iowans with equitable access to entrepreneurial, professional development, and community resources so that they may pursue meaningful careers and fulfilling lives.”
Initially their request to add “business incubator” and “coworking space” to the R3 Multiple Family Dwelling District was denied by the city’s planning and zoning administrator. By June 12, however, the city council made the decision to adopt the amendment and the future of yet another former Iowa Wesleyan University building became a little more clear.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com
