Karen Eischen knows what’s going on in Pella. 

Eischen, executive director of the Pella Chamber of Commerce, helps guide development from her upper-level office in a remodeled visitors hub northwest of a tidy town square known for two things: tulips and Dutch letters.

This town of 10,300 has a surprising amount going on. I stopped by to check in with Eischen, right after I visited Jaarsma Bakery for an assortment of baked goods that added some sugary goodness to the final preparations for a family wedding.

Oskaloosa-Pella airport

Leaders from Oskaloosa and Pella are working on an environmental impact statement for an airport that would be located between the towns, 7 miles from Pella. 

The two current airports would close, Eischen said. The environmental study should be done by fall, and then the Federal Aviation Administration, a prime source of money for airports, will review the plans. “It’s a seven-year process,” Eischen said. 

But the cities could buy land next year. The task is expected to be challenging in an area that is full of active farms. The airport would handle mostly planes with six to 17 seats.

The small-plane facility is considered important with the likes of Vermeer Manufacturing, Pella Corp. and Musco Lighting in the area. 

New route to I-80

Planners dream of a two-lane state highway leading to Interstate Highway 80 some 25 miles to the north, which is now accessible only by dicey, winding, hilly roads with virtually no shoulders, Eischen said. 

Workforce development

Des Moines Area Community College opened a new Career Academy next to Pella High School last fall in collaboration with local employers looking for more workers in health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing and criminal justice. “It’s going very well,” Eischen said. “There are waiting lists for some programs.”

Local employers have the same tough time finding workers that many Iowa companies do. So local heavyweights Vermeer Corp., Pella Corp. and Van Gorp Corp., which makes conveyer parts, have worked to boost worker education and have cooperated in the new academy. The classes offer both high school and college credit. 

Housing

A new housing study proved what community leaders already knew: Pella — a place where 2,000 workers commute to town each day — needs 2,200 more housing units in the area in the next nine years. “We will have a huge need for rentals. We have a lot of young new talent coming into the big corporations, and we also have baby boomers,” Eischen said. “We need 1,000 units in Pella, maybe a third of them rentals. We have a lack of infill lots, so we are looking for land for a big development.”

“There have been long-range plans for planned communities here,” Eischen said. “Those plans need to become short-term. Housing is getting critical already.” 

Eischen is talking to developers about the possibility of a mixed-use project near the present Pella airport, which would eventually close. 

Hydropower happenings

Work continues on a 36-megawatt hydroelectric dam at Red Rock Dam south of Pella. Missouri River Energy Services, which provides electricity to Pella, expects the plant to be done in 2018. The power will be enough to serve 18,000 homes. “That’s a huge boost,” Eischen said. 

New marina at Red Rock

Dallas-based Suntex Marinas, which operates the Saylorville Lake marina near Des Moines, has taken over marina operations at Lake Red Rock and added more slips, a new store, cabins and a restaurant. 

Growth

The city will be looking for land for an industrial park and is likely to expand its tax-increment finance district, Eischen said. There is talk of possibly annexing land.

Aria Silenzio: Opera House renovations

The Pella Opera House has closed temporarily (as of the end of Tulip Time) and will reopen for Christmas after a $1 million renovation that will include new light controls. (See a video with more details at http://bit.ly/1UCygyS.) The work began the second week of May.

The Opera House opened in 1900. In 1918, a buyer turned it into an auto repair garage. The building later was, at various times, a bowling alley, a roller rink, a chicken and egg sales area, a butcher shop, a grocery and Gambles Hardware. After a fundraiser, the dilapidated building was restored as the original Opera House, and it reopened in 1990. The facility launched a campaign on the 25th anniversary of the reopening to modernize equipment, make repairs and freshen the building.

Dreams

Aside from strong workforce development, a renovated Opera House, more apartments, duplexes and quadplexes, and a new route to I-80 with an interchange, Pella promoters’ bucket list also includes attracting a brew pub to downtown.