Monticello Main Street finds new office space

After being accepted into the Main Street Iowa Program in 2022 and having an office space in the co-working space of the Innovation Lab (101 E First St.) for the last three years, the Monticello Main Street organization relocated its office down the street.

Main Street Executive Director Brian Wolken said the organization was notified last spring that there were going to be changes to the Innovation Lab.

“One of those changes was the potential sale of the building,” Wolken said in a recent interview. The Creative Adventure Lab and Innovation Lab is based in Dubuque and it built the Monti location as part of a pilot program.

“That pilot program had run its course, and they were looking for a more permanent business to more highly utilize the space,” commented Wolken.

That’s when Wolken and the Main Street organization had to look at what’s next.

“So, we looked at ‘Are we in a position to purchase a building? Are we in a position to purchase a building that size?’ To make that work, we were going to have to find a long-term tenant.”

After putting some feelers out for possible renters, Wolken said “coincidentally, we got a call from RISE Counseling, looking for spaces available in town.”

As it worked out, RISE bought the building from Creative Adventure Lab Inc.

“Ultimately, RISE wants to use the whole building. And that’s kind of part of the economic development side of Main Street. How do you get the right tenants in the right building?” Wolken said.

Wolken said the Main Street organization wants to see the downtown buildings privately owned and occupied.

“That just tends to be the best model … So, once we were out of that space, we just kind of walked around downtown and said, ‘What’s available?’” 

Walking through downtown Monticello, Wolken recognized the space at 402 East First St. was available.

“The vet had moved out and then the groomers had moved out, so we inquired about this space,” Wolken said. “Ultimately, it was the best space for us at the time. It’ll be a short-term space. We want something permanent, but I’m also OK with the model of moving to vacant spaces to keep them activated. The best thing possible would be to have our main street full and us have nowhere to go. That means we’ve saturated the market and there’s demand.”

Monticello Main Street celebrated its third anniversary back in Aug. 2025 and its mission is to refresh, revitalize, and renew Monticello’s historic downtown through small business growth, building rehabilitation and community engagement.

Chocolate on Main

After helping the parks and recreation department with the Holiday on First event to close out 2025, Monticello Main Street will host the Chocolate on Main event on Saturday, Feb. 7. Retail hours will be based on survey results.

Chocolate on Main gives shoppers the opportunity to support small businesses in Monticello, as well as enjoy a sweet treat.

“This is a ‘Ring the Register’ event, so come out and support our local retailers while enjoying an unforgettable experience. We can’t wait to see the community come together for this,” Monticello Main Street said in a Facebook post.

This year will mark the third Chocolate on Main event, with each one featuring the logo competition.

Contestants submitted a logo for the event and the number of Facebook “reactions” determined the winner.

This year’s logo competition had five designs vie for the finalist. After the Facebook voting ended, Breya Nolan was the winner.