Donations sought for demo of three Villisca buildings

The landscape of Villisca’s downtown will be changing in the near future.
The City of Villisca received a $100,000 grant last week from the Iowa West Foundation to be used to tear down the Rialto Theater and two adjacent buildings.
Villisca City Council member and Rialto Theater Board President Tripp Narup said when he first moved to the community, he quickly became involved with the Rialto.
“I knew a lot of people who were involved with the Rialto back in the good old days, and so I hooked up with them rather quickly,” Narup said.
Initially, Narup said they had plans to save the century-old building and reopen before discovering the renovation task was too daunting.
“We did some electrical work and stuff like that, and it quickly became apparent that none of us knew enough to be doing renovations piecemeal. We then hired an architect to give us a renovation plan. Unfortunately, he looked at the building and his first thought was to bring in a structural engineer,” explained Narup.
Once the architect returned with a structural engineer, Narup said they found the building was beyond saving.
“The structural engineer took one look at the back wall and said he wasn’t sure why it was still standing. That’s just not what you want to hear. It’s one of those things when someone points it out, you can’t unsee it. It has several compound curves in the back wall that shouldn’t be there. They came up with a cost estimate of around $850,000 just to fix the structural issues,” advised Narup. “That’s not including the cost of a new projector, or seats, or anything, that was just what it would take to fix the building and keep it from falling over. That’s when we knew it had to come down, which was disappointing. Once we realized we had to tear it down, we knew the two buildings next to it had to come down too, the Lounge building, and the old Honeyman building. It’s a half a block we’ll have to tear down.
The building’s current state, Narup said, is quite different from the Rialto’s glory days.
“As a community theater, they put on full-blown musicals with a band up in the balcony and a cast of thousands. It’s remarkable that a town of this size could get so many people to do these productions. For a number of years, they put on a new musical every year. There’s a lot of history there, and a lot of people put in time and effort on those shows. Unfortunately, people aren’t as inclined to get involved in that kind of stuff anymore. Even if we’d saved the building, it would have been impossible to recreate what had happened before,” Narup said.
Once the buildings are removed, Narup said they have an idea of something new to bring to Villisca’s downtown.
“We came up with the idea of a covered farmers market and an outdoor performance space. Pete Franks Design Group has made preliminary drawings of the project and will be submitting a final design soon. The Villisca Theater Company has owned the Rialto over the years, which is a 501(c)(3) and we’re going to keep that structure in place to raise money and bring in bands like they do in Malvern with the Summer Music Series,” Narup commented. 
While the building itself will come down, Narup said they’ll be keeping a piece of the Rialto at the forefront.
“One of the main things we decided early on was that we were going to keep the marquee. It’s the part of the Rialto that the people remember. We asked the architect from the very start to incorporate that into the new structure somehow, and he came up with the idea of making it the roof structure over the stage, which will be really cool,” Narup said.
The Iowa West Foundation grant, Narup said, is funding that they’ve applied for in the past.
“I contacted them around four years ago seeking $25,000 to renovate the theater, and they didn’t seem interested at the time, so I’d kind of written them off. I happened to get an email about a training session they were doing for people applying for grants. I attended the session and explained the situation. We had about two weeks before the grant deadline to pull the information together, so Villisca City Clerk Kadee Myers and I pulled the information together and got it submitted in time. I had a good feeling about the grant and they were very encouraging and helpful,” Narup stated.
One of the things Narup felt helped them secure the grant was the support for the project from other entities. Narup also said there’s one key fundraising piece yet to be determined.
“We have a variety of funding sources. The Rialto is chipping in $25,000, the City of Villisca is chipping in $60,000, and then we’re hoping to raise another $25,000 from local folks, so we’re looking for a pretty big buy-in from the community. I think that will make a big difference in the project, because everyone is going to have the opportunity to make a difference,” said Narup.
Once the demolition is complete, Narup is hopeful for more assistance from the Iowa West Foundation.
“We’ll be applying for another grant from Iowa west next year with a grant proposal for the building. I don’t believe they’d give us the money to tear it all down just to say ‘Good luck.’ I think they’re expecting us to apply with a building grant, and as of yet, we’re not entirely sure what that might cost. I’m assuming that it will be less expense than trying to build an entirely new theater. It’s a relatively simple covered structure for the farmers market on the south side of the area, and the outdoor stage would be located on the north side,” advised Narup.
The Iowa West Foundation has distributed more than $500 million to nonprofits and governmental entities throughout southwest Iowa and the metro area since the inception of its grant program. Funding for the grants comes from investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association, which receives contractual fees from Council Bluffs casino operators. The Foundation targets resources into programs and projects that focus on financial stability, opportunity, belonging and wellbeing.
“We are happy to support the City of Villisca’s vision to reenergize the downtown,” said Brenda Mainwaring, President and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation. “When communities are thoughtful about how to remain vibrant and grow, it creates a place where people love to live.”
Initially, Narup planned to apply for a derelict building grant through the Iowa DNR, but quickly discovered the grant wasn’t feasible, making the Iowa West grant that much important.
“The DNR basically wanted us to remove one building at a time. Considering the other buildings are leaning on each other, that wasn’t going to work, especially because if the buildings fall down on their own, you’re not eligible for the grant anymore. We didn’t even apply for it. The Iowa West Foundation is kind of the knight in shining armor and they really are saving us,” Narup stated.
The expected cost for the demolition project is $210,000. Currently, $185,000 has been raised for the project, and Narup said the $25,000 in funding from the community is essential.
“We really need the Villisca community to step up and contribute to this project. This is a great opportunity for the city and surrounding areas to come together to make Villisca a better place to live,” Narup said.
Narup felt the project was beyond just community improvement; it’s almost become a community safety project.
“The buildings in the middle, commonly referred to as the Lounge and the Honeyman bulding, they’d been practically abandoned. At the Honeyman building, the roof has completely collapsed and the interior floors and walls are down in the basement. It’s really just a brick shell.
Narup singled out Jim Robinson, Montgomery County Supervisor Donna Robinson’s husband, for greatly helping reduce the demolition costs.
“Jim has a farm up by Tenville with some erosion problems, and he’s going to take all the brick from the tear-down. That is saving us a ton of money. If he hadn’t stepped up and offered to do that, I don’t think we’d be able to to this project. Someone told me that dumping fees are around $45 a ton, and that adds up quickly when you’re dumping brick,” explained Narup.
Many Villisca residents have fond memories of the Rialto Theater. Pat Shipley participated in several productions at the Rialto.
“I cherish the over 25 years I was part of many productions at the Rialto,” she said, “and it’s where I went to movies as a child. However, communities change and there was no hope for restoration or guarantee of sustainable support. It was time to think forward rather than look back. We are grateful to have received the Iowa West Foundation grant.”
In its heyday, the Rialto showed movies and produced major musicals such as “Guys and Dolls” and “Camelot.” The building was originally a mercantile building but was converted to a theater in 1930. The last production at the Rialto was in 2017 when the local high school produced “Don’t Drink the Water.” The last community production was “”The Spitfire Grill” in 2006.
Donations can be dropped off at City Hall. Make checks out to “The City of Villisca.” Donations will also be accepted through the Villisca Theater Company. Any money received will go to the city for the project. Contact Tripp Narup at trippnstl@gmail.com or 712-438-0599, for further information.