American 250: Success Story

America turns 250 tomorrow. Across the country, communities are taking stock of what they have built, what they have let slip, and what they still believe is possible. In downtown Marion, we have been asking that same question for the last 8 years since we launched Main Street Reimagined. The Lydia is our boldest answer yet.

Recently, Heritage Ohio launched a statewide initiative called 250 Buildings, 250 Stories, inviting communities to submit historic buildings that deserve to be recognized, celebrated, or reimagined. We submitted The Lydia under the “Celebrated 250” category, reserved for rehabilitated building success stories. It is a story we are proud to tell again, because it was the hardest thing we have built, and because the completed project is exactly what downtown Marion is capable of.

The prompts they offered are bolded, and our response was as follows:

When did the building undergo rehabilitation? What was the condition and use of the building before the project? What is the building like today?

The building at the corner of Church Street and Main Street in downtown Marion had been vacant for years on the first floor and decades on the upper floors before Henry Development Group acquired it as part of the Main Street Reimagined project in 2018. Rehabilitation began in late 2022 and took over 3 years to complete, with structural surprises, relentless cost overruns, and constant challenges that tested the project at nearly every turn. The total investment ended up topping $4 million.

Every iconic building has a name, and this one is steeped in history. Marion was founded by Eber Baker, and his wife was Lydia. The building stretches the entire block directly across from Founders Park, facing the city’s founding story head on. It was seen as the bride of the block, and so The Lydia it became.

Today, The Lydia houses nine loft apartments and three fast casual restaurants: Lazeez Grill (fast casual Mediterranean), Whit’s Frozen Custard, and OX-B’s (American chicken-forward fare). What was once left to rot is now buzzing with life and vibrancy.

What did the rehabilitation of this building do for your community? Why does this project matter in the context of your community today?

Downtown Marion has been in the middle of a meaningful transformation for several years, and The Lydia marks a turning point on that timeline.

Three restaurants opening simultaneously on a single block changed the energy of the surrounding downtown in a way that is difficult to fully quantify. Restaurants are among the few uses that activate a street at nearly every hour of the day, and three at once created immediate, sustained foot traffic not just on that block but across the broader downtown. Founders Park, directly across the street, now has a steady rhythm of people enjoying lunch in a space that once felt removed from daily life.

Beyond the foot traffic, dining options in downtown Marion have diversified and increased significantly. Residents of Marion County are rediscovering what downtown has to offer, and new visitors are coming specifically for the food. The Lydia gave people a reason to show up, and they have.

Why is this building important to your community? Why is this building important to you personally?

Because it sits on the corner of the busiest intersection in the City of Marion, stretching the entire block and across from the largest downtown park, this is a prominent site in the downtown. Going from completely vacant, with broken and boarded up windows on the storefronts and upper floors, to completely activated with high traffic restaurants and high-end loft apartments, marks a really significant shift. That shift is palpable not only to our local community, but to visitors and tourists as well.

For me personally, this project was different from the nearly 20 others that came before it. I came into downtown revitalization with no development background and have spent the better part of eight years learning by doing. The Lydia was the hardest project by a significant margin. There were stretches where I moved forward on willpower alone, where the gap between vision and reality felt nearly insurmountable.

What kept me going was the vision of what this corner could become. Seeing it now, with restaurants full, lofts occupied, and people gathering in the park across the street, makes every one of those difficult days worth it. This is what downtown Marion is capable of and what our community deserves.