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The growth in Riverside is a little different than development in other small towns.
Currently, there are no new subdivisions in the works, city clerk Tina Thomas said. But there is a casino.
The Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, scheduled to open Aug. 31, may change this small town, residents said. But they hope for the best.
Riverside resident Adam Rosenstein spent time with his soon-to-be 2-year-old daughter, Abby, on Monday at Legion Park, the location of the USS Riverside, a replica of the USS Enterprise from "Star Trek."
The town is known for its annual Trek Fest celebration, celebrated the last Saturday in June. Residents proclaimed the town the "future birthplace" of "Star Trek" Capt. James T. Kirk in 1985 after reading "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's book, which noted Kirk's birthplace as a small town in Iowa.
Rosenstein said he and his wife decided to move to Riverside because of its convenience to the Iowa City area and "houses were cheaper here."
"It's a nice small community," he said. "People have been very friendly" in the two years the family has lived there.
Rosenstein said they moved to town one month before the announcement of the casino.
"We're basically waiting to see what happens," he said. "It's definitely going to be changing with all the development. ... It's growing and changing more than the other towns around here."
Sam Torrey, who has lived in Riverside since 1993, said he and his wife chose to move to Riverside from Coralville to get back to a small-town setting.
"It's just a nice quiet town," Torrey said.
Although growth could cause change, Torrey said he sees it as a good thing for Riverside.
"Hopefully, there will be a lot of housing going up," he said. "The casino area will be a growth area."
Large areas of land on both sides of Highway 218 are for sale, including an 11-acre lot owned by the city. The land has been on the market for years, but interest recently has spiked, Thomas said.
Along with the casino and resort, Riverside is one of two final contenders for Earthpark. Earthpark is a proposed educational and environmental facility that will include a 3.5-acre indoor rain forest with three ecosystems, a half million gallon aquarium, learning and performance space and outdoor prairies and wetlands.
"That doesn't interest me at all," Riverside resident Norma Swailes said. "I've seen enough trees in my life."
Swailes said she has lived in Riverside for 55 years, moving to town after getting married. All six of her living children graduated from Riverside Elementary and Highland High School, both of which are in town.
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