$65 million Iron Grain District to Republic

24,000 sq. ft. shopping center, 200 apartments/townhomes slated
 
Magers Management Company recently announced their plans to create the Iron Grain District in Republic. According to a press release distributed by the company, the Iron Grain District will be a $65-million, 30-acre development located near the intersection of MM and Sawyer Road.
The development will be a combination of both commercial and residential facilities.
“The first thing that I’m pulling out of the ground is a 24,000 square foot shopping center,” said Shannon Handwerker, vice president of operations. “It’ll be a mix of … retail, restaurant and office space, and then we’ve got outlets, as well that are available long-term lease that we’ll build to suit.”
Handwerker said the company hasn’t broken ground on the development yet, but they are already fielding calls from businesses interested in securing a space at the development.
“We’ve had calls from both national restaurant tenants and local restaurants that are interested in going out there, and then a few medical users, as well,” she said.
On the residential side of the development, Handwerker said she plans to build 200 apartments and townhomes at Iron Grain.
“They’ll be one, two and three-bedroom units,” she said.
Building residential and commercial units in the same development makes a lot of sense, Handwerker said, because those living at the development will be within walking distance of the businesses located there.
“You’re going to have a lot of people that need to eat, get their nails done, get their haircuts, whatever it may be, and so the convenience is just ideal right there,” she said.
If all goes according to schedule, Handwerker said, Magers will break ground on the development in March.
“The plans are with the city now for the shopping center,” she said, “and so as soon as I get my building permit, we’ll get going.”
Shooting for summer of 2023
As it stands, Handwerker hopes to have the shopping center completed by summer of 2023, but she said the company is negotiating some of the building material shortages created by the pandemic.
“We are running into supply chain issues, just like everybody else,” she said. “Construction is pretty tough right now.”
As to the apartments, Handwerker said she doesn’t have a timeframe for them yet.
“The whole development will be done in phases,” she said.
As for the name of the development, Handwerker said the company chose to call it “Iron Grain” in honor of the city of Republic.
“We did a lot of research with the area,” she said, “and … there was a lot of mining back in the day in Republic and we wanted to pay tribute to that, (as well as) the big farming community, and with respect to Republic, that’s what we came up with.”
Mayor Matt Russell praised Magers Management Company’s decision to build the Iron Grain District in Republic.
“The proposed Iron Grain District project brings retail and residential development together in a way that aligns with our current goal to make Republic a great place to live, work and play,” Russell said.