WATERLOO, Iowa — Main Street Waterloo’s annual “Tour de ‘Loo”
open house for downtown development projects has broadened its
horizons beyond downtown walls

Riverfront Renaissance was the first downtown redevelopment
project highlighted in this year’s tour, held Thursday.

Much of the project is still under construction, but some of it
is in place. Paramount Park, on the south side of East Fourth
Street, features a Vietnam War memorial, a bike path and a river
overlook.

“It’s nice to be able to show the public what we’re talking
about,” said Douglas Schindel, of the AECOM engineering firm. “Now
that this is complete it’s easier to envision.”

The annual fundraiser raises money for Main Street Waterloo.
More than 300 tickets were sold for the tour this year.

Many tourists weren’t new to downtown but still got glimpses of
buildings and businesses for the first time.

“It’s exciting to see what’s new,” said Cammie Scully, director
of the Waterloo Center for the Arts. “Even working downtown, I
still haven’t been to some of these places.”

Some spaces on the tour were shells of their promise. JSA
Development projects, living spaces above the former Asquith
Jewelers building, 217 W. Fourth St., and the Repass Building,
326-330 E. Fourth St., were under construction.

“It seems like it would be a nice space to live if you want to
live downtown,” said Jessica Walstrom, of La Porte City.

Newton’s Paradise Cafe, 128 E. Fourth St., a stop last year
while under construction, gave downtown tourists a bright
before-and-after picture. The restaurant offered food and pictures
of the building before it and its historic neon sign were
refurbished.

“It’s fantastic seeing it side-by-side,” said Mitch Biersner,
Main Street Waterloo marketing and event coordinator. “It’s all lit
up, and you really get a feeling of the history of the
building.”

Modern spaces were given the spotlight as well. The tour gave
Youlanda Robinson of Heal the Family a chance to tell people about
the counseling services center and show off the remodeled office
space at 212 E. Fourth St., Suite 124.

At Jameson’s Public House, 310 E. Fourth St., the new attraction
wasn’t all about the building, but the food that is prepared in the
pub’s new kitchen addition.

Other stops included Volks Haus, 324 E. Fourth St.; Oh! So In
Boutique, 221 W. Fourth St.; Convention and Visitors Bureau, 500
Jefferson St.; Shoppe on the Corner, 209 W. Fifth St.; and
Heartland Investments, 214 E. Fourth St. The tour concluded at the
Art House Cafe, which has reopened at the Waterloo Center for the
Arts.