MARION The city of Marion was a boomtown in the early 20th century, but its population has steadily declined since the 1970s. City leaders hope a flashy development project can help the city grow again. Marion Mayor Ronald Morrell, Jr. and others broke ground at River Rock Lofts on Tuesday. The $10 million project connects downtown Marion to the Mississinewa River and will feature apartments, restaurant space, and a public plaza."Marion deserves nice things," Morrell said. "For so long, we thought that we were second and third-class citizens, but we deserve the best in this city." The project is led by Rebar Development. Even though the development company is based in Fishers, founder and CEO Shelby Bowen was born and raised in Marion."I don't want to diminish what we've done in other places in the state, but to be able to do it here in Marion is something I wouldn't have dreamt of when I started doing this," Bowen said. Marion's population dramatically grew around 1900 because of the natural gas found near the city. As a result, most of the city's notable architecture and development is from that time period."There were a lot of entrepreneurs who came in with big ideas back then," said Rhonda Stoffer, a historian at the Marion Public Library's museum. "Some worked, some didn't." Marion grew to nearly 40,000 residents by the 1970 Census, but the manufacturing industries that supported the city's economy started to shut down around that time. The city has dwindled to about 28,000 residents, which is equivalent to Marion's population around World War II.Even though the city has shrunk, projects such as the River Rock Lofts and the completed Marion National Bank tower revitalization could provide optimism for Marion's future. "It's never going to be like it was when you were a kid when you came down here 50 years ago," Stoffer said. "It's going to be different, but there's a lot going on down here.""In my lifetime, I don't remember anything like [River Rock] happening here," Morrell said. "It's really cool to see that we were able to pull something like this off."River Rock Lofts is expected to open by next summer.