Rezoning of Breckenridge property postponed, entrepreneurship workshop scheduled

Christie Smith

Rezoning of the Breckenridge property on South Wilmoth Avenue and Lincoln Way was postponed at an Ames City Council meeting Tuesday night.

The Breckenridge property has been the topic of several previous council meetings. The proposed plan for the property would include an apartment complex with more than 400 beds and at least 15,000 square feet of commercial space.

This mixed-use space would create housing and retail options similar to the new developments in Campustown.

The next step for the property is the rezoning of the land for usage as high-density residential and commercial. The Planning and Zoning Commission was scheduled to present a rezoning plan to the council at Tuesday’s meeting, but it requested that the council postpone its testimony until the Nov. 24 meeting.

The motion to continue the hearing until Nov. 24 was carried unanimously.

Councilman Tim Gartin, who represents the Ward 2 district, also announced an entrepreneurship workshop for ISU students that is scheduled to take place in the South Ballroom of the Memorial Union at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The workshop will focus on creating an “entrepreneurship ecosystem,” a term borrowed from the guest speaker for the event, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. 

Gartin said the workshop will be the first of many steps to create an environment in Ames that’s conducive for start-up businesses. He said it’s also an important step for creating a connection between student residents and the rest of the Ames community.

“We have this amazing research engine here called [Iowa State],” Gartin said. The city wants to partner with President Leath to promote an environment for high-tech transfer.

Although many of the speakers will be entrepreneurs in technology fields, Gartin said the workshop will be helpful to anyone who wants to start a business of any kind, “even a shoe store.”