Downtown Cedar Rapids news, etc.

[Brady]

Library looks at changes

Aging C.R. facility hopes to be part of downtown revival

By Rick Smith The Gazette



CEDAR RAPIDS — The No. 1 reason residents come to downtown Cedar Rapids is to use the public library, a consultant’s study has found.
That, though, is not what a ‘‘happening’’ downtown should want, a consultant for the Cedar Rapids Downtown District said a few weeks ago. Live music, cultural hot spots and to-die-for restaurants should top the list of downtown attractions, not the public library, the consultant suggested.
Tim Hill, president-elect of the library board, on Tuesday said he’d like to see more going on downtown, too. But don’t discount what the 21-year-old library, which faces the riverfront on First Street SE, has meant to downtown and what it can mean in the future, he said.
Hill was announcing a nowcompleted needs-assessment by the library board, the library foundation, staff and their consultant, which has concluded that the downtown library has become worn and dated and is in need of ‘‘significant renewal.’’
Hill said the library board is using a consultant to develop a building plan to help address the library’s future needs, both at its downtown site and its west side location.
It’s too early, he said, to be talking about how improvements would be financed, though he noted the board isn’t talking about a new downtown building.
‘‘If we do anything, I hope it’s tied to the riverfront redevelopment and that it creates interest not only in the library but in that area of town,’’ he said.
Redeveloping the riverfront is one of the Fifteen in 5 community planning goals.
Rather than a new downtown building, Hill said, the library board is looking at reconfiguring space, replacing furniture, shelving and carpeting, improving lighting, increasing computer and Internet services, changing the layout of the children’s department and improving a chronic parking problem.
Much has changed about how the library delivers services since the current downtown library opened. It has been 21 years of ‘‘relentless wear from heavy use,’’ the library’s needs-assessment states.
Hill said the downtown library and the small branch at Westdale Mall had 576,797 visits in 2005 from people checking out 1.09 million materials.
Many of those users aren’t hustling through the library but are there to visit and use the place, he said.
‘‘It’s definitely a community, and we’d like to make it even more of a gathering spot,’’ Hill said.
The needs-assessment also pointed to space and service limitations at the west side branch.
Hill, an attorney at Bradley & Riley, said it was too soon to put a price tag on library improvements or say how the cost might be covered.
The library has a new board and a new director and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in the next few years. It opened Feb. 17, 1985.
‘‘We’ve got needs, and it’s time to look at them,’’ Hill said.
The current downtown library is 85,000 square feet, and the library’s consultant suggested that the city’s libraries might need 127,000 to 136,000 square feet of space by 2030 based on population projections.

Cedar Rapids does have a pretty nice library but it really is out dated. The carpet, walls and wood panneling kind of remind me of the library in The Breakfast Club. It's a quality building.. but a renovation I think it could be very nice. I'm curious how they would ever add that additional 40,000 -45,000 sq feet of space as it takes up pretty much the whole block and is a fairly closed building (massive concrete walls).

I agree with the consultant though... the library is a bad top attraction for downtown!

[Brady]

lol... off on a tangent. when i google CR library to find an image to post i found this... an old story from The Onion about the *Cedar Rapids library* stepping up security after 9/11
I was confused before I saw it was the Onion due to the photo that came up that was obviously not the CR library...

http://www.abanet.org/publiced/amcon/starters/liberties3.html

Excerpt from The Onion—America's Finest News Source, copyright 2001

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA — In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the Cedar Rapids Public Library is undertaking steps to tighten security, library officials announced Monday. "As caretakers of the most prominent public building in the second largest city in Iowa, this library can no longer afford to take chances," library director Glenda Quarles said. "Due to our limited budget, we can't devote the kind of resources and manpower to security that, say, the Library of Congress can. But because of our high profile and easy access, we feel a strong responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of those members of the public who visit and use us."

. . . A number of new security measures will directly affect the public: It will now become more difficult to obtain a library card, requiring a birth certificate and two forms of photo ID. The daily children's story hour has been shortened to 20 minutes. And while the library has always officially had a no-loitering rule on the books, it will now be strictly enforced.

Cedar Rapids residents are praising the security upgrade as a necessary response to the events on the East Coast. "Some people might consider the prospect of metal detectors and three forms of ID for library cards a bit extreme, but we're living in a whole new world," longtime resident Frank Gonitz said. "The way I figure, if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide, right?"

"I can't believe that just three weeks ago, I was naïve enough to believe that a library was a safe sanctuary for quiet reading and contemplative study," said Melinda Wallach, 52. "Maybe one day, things will return to normal. But I think the lesson here is, if it can happen at the Pentagon, it can happen anywhere."

[Brady]

now here are some legitimate photos of the Cedar Rapids Public Library from CR Assessor website:


front


front


rear

[ICGuy]

Thanks for posting this Brady - I saw it yesterday, but didn't want to type it out.

Interesting article...I think people often underestimate the drawing power of a library when thinking about attracting folks downtown. Should it be the glamorous downtown attraction? Probably not. But a good, successful library will attract a lot of people into the urban core on a more consistent basis - people that might not otherwise visit the urban core all that often. And it can create foot traffic in an area - if it is well-planned, designed, and user-friendly. The IC Public Library is probably the largest attraction in downtown Iowa City (at least in terms of visits) - and it encourages spillover with the playground, some ground level business spaces (including a soon-to-open NYNY Deli), and places for people to spend time. And, it helps people be comfortable with downtown - because it gets kids and families downtown.

As far as adding the additional space - I would bet they could build upward if needed (they did in IC), as well as expanding to fit the entire block.

[Brady]

I think it'd be cool if they expanded upward as currently is kind of a wide short building. also I love the Iowa City Library! it's such a great place.

[Brady]

Marble to open second downtown C.R. night spot

By Dave DeWitte
The Gazette
CEDAR RAPIDS — Former NBA player and University of Iowa basketball scoring record holder Roy Marble is about to open his second night club in downtown Cedar Rapids only five months after opening the first.
Marble said he’s opening the Illujenz night club at 616 Second Ave. SE to provide an outlet for 21- to 25-year-olds to dance to uncensored rap, hiphop, and rhythm and blues. The plan is partly a reaction to the mixed expectations of his clientele at Legends Entertainment Center, which opened June 30 at 215 Second St. SE, near his Citystyle clothing store at 209 Second St. SE.
Younger clients, both black and white, come expecting to hear the kind of rap they play at home and in their car. Their exp e c t a t i o n s sometimes conflict with an older clientele, who aren’t familiar with the music, and sometimes find the lyrics offensive.
‘‘Freedom of speech will be upheld there,’’ Marble said of the new club. He said the atmosphere of Illujenz ‘‘will be an illusion’’ where patrons can feel like they’re dancing in a music video.
Legends is a vast open floor decorated with walls of University of Iowa sports photos and memorabilia, most of them related to Marble’s UI career in the 1980s.
Illujenz more closely resembles an urban dance club, with curved walls, high ceilings and interesting colors.
‘‘It’s something you might expect to see in a larger city,’’ said Tiffany Earl, a commercial real estate specialist who focuses on downtown Cedar Rapids.
Crowds at Legends sometimes hit the fire capacity rating of 400 on busy weekends. Marble said the conflicting requests, which can be more like demands, have at times made it challenging for Big Los, Brian Lee, and other deejays to play complete sets. ‘‘The diversity aspect is what I wanted to see,’’ Marble said. The crowds have been diverse, but not always harmonious.
‘‘I have to tame the beast,’’ Marble said.
Marble has at least for now postponed his plans to open a diversity- oriented magazine focusing on the Corridor.
Marble’s businesses have survived his drunken driving arrest in June, although Marble himself is still trying to put the brush with the law behind him.
‘‘I was wrong,’’ he said, adding that operating a night spot has given him a new appreciation for law enforcement’s role. Marble is excited about marketing Legends in new ways. He plans to offer the venue for private parties, and also to promote the business as a lunchtime destination.
Marble, 39, says it’s been the realization of a dream to have his own club, even though it’s more public contact than he expected.
‘‘Sometimes, I like to come in on Sundays by myself when we’re closed and clean up,’’ he said. ‘‘Then I sit down and watch a game and eat popcorn. It’s like having the world’s biggest basement to myself.’’

it seems like a lot of these nightlife businesses are popping up more around Second Ave / second street rather than First Street which was coined the nightlife district by the Downtown District group a few years ago. Anyway always great to get more clubs and nightlife downtown. not exactly my thing but the more people there are downtown at night the better.

[Brady]

I attended this downtown parking presentation last night at the Crowne Plaza. At first I was a bit skeptical (*yet another consultant* in Cedar Rapids). At first much of his presentation was about things that were quite obvious to me (maybe not the downtown business community that made up the remainder of attendees) - such as good urban design of garages, mixed use wrapped garages, etc... But then he got into case studies like Boise and Boulder. His argument was that parking operations and goals need to be integrated with downtown economic development - they need to cooperate tightly. In Boise and Boulder new parking structures have spurred new development and with correct pricing, eventually produce enough excess revenue to provide funding for downtown improvements like streetscaping, flowers / landscaping, maintenance, banners, etc. that can make a big difference in the attractiveness of downtowns. Hopefully the City can get on this for a short term, post-flood solution, and more long term strategy.

I noticed, back home for spring break this week, they have implemented back-in angle parking and many downtown streets, though i've seen a number of cars pulling in forward. Not sure what I think about this, despite being technically safer, but the angle parking does instantly increase prime parking capacity downtown with minimal investment.

Updated March 17. 2009 10:28AM
Downtown parking can mean economic development

By Steve Gravelle
The Gazette
[email protected]

CEDAR RAPIDS - Done right, downtown parking can support and even help finance the area's economic development.

"We need to align our parking policies with something more than parking policy," Dennis Burns said Monday afternoon in Cedar Rapids.

Burns, a vice president of the Tempe, Ariz.-based Carl Walker parking management and consultant firm, spoke to about 50 downtown business owners and other stakeholders at a meeting organized by Cedar Rapids Downtown District. The Carl Walker firm covered Burns' travel costs "as a gift to the community," according to the district.

"I think you've got the basics in place," said Burns, who arrived in Cedar Rapids Sunday night and spent the day meeting with city and business officials and touring the dow town. But downtown interests must integrate parking planning with their overall plan for the neighborhood.

That means enacting rates, schedules, and enforcement policies that further the goals of downtown businesses — usually encouraging turnover of on-street spaces to allow customers access to shops, stores, and restaurants.

"On-street parking should be more expensive than off-street parking," since it is more convenient, Burns said.

"Brighten the facilities up and make them as attractive as you can, because that's the (visitor's) first and last impression. When a business changes, you go to that merchant and ask what their special needs are" and tailor policy to suit.

Burns touted other cities' move to multi-space meters, which serve several spaces along a block and accept dollar bills and credit and debit cards. He called Cedar Rapids' recently adopted back-in angle parking "an interesting concept. It's not taken off across the country all that much."

Easy-to-use parking can support other efforts to bring life to downtown, Burns said.

"People don't come downtown because you've got good parking," he said. "They need a reason to come. Parking can be a reason not to come downtown."

[Brady]

FEMA chose the City of Cedar Rapids as recipient of $20 million + in federal funds to repair the Veterans Memorial Building (City Hall). There has long been dispute on who actually "owns" the building - the City or the Veterans Memorial Commission which operates and maintains the building. Now that the city has embarked on studying a co-location with the schools (the county is not even involved anymore) the building remains empty (cleaned up), waiting for repair work to begin. More info on my blog about it: http://www.urbanthinking.org/?p=120

[Brady]

Also - some other downtown updates as I saw last week when home for spring break - http://www.urbanthinking.org/?p=117

Here is some photos I took around downtown: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradydorma ... 590747398/

[DMRyan]

Rick Smith of the Cedar Rapids Gazette has an excellent blog documenting CR politics and its struggle to rebuild after the flood. The article linked below is a long one, but an excellent read on the status of several downtown or near downtown housing projects. The article also contains a great summary on the challenges facing all of the projects receiving tax credits right now, including those in Des Moines among other places. Tax credit projects are moving slow right now and facing opposition from neighbors due to the stigma of providing housing with income restrictions.

http://rickmsmith.wordpress.com/

Here are a few notable excerpts:

To date, more than nine months after Cedar Rapids’ 2008 flood disaster, no part of the new pot of tax credits has done anything to bring more affordable housing to Cedar Rapids to replace affordable housing lost to the flood.

Last week in an interview with Iowa Finance Authority officials, though, they assured that tax-credit projects will be forthcoming despite a downturn in the national economy.

Projects are “taking a little longer,” Dave Vaske, IFA’s tax-credit manager, said last week.

But Vaske pointed out that in the best of economic climates it typically can take nine months between the IFA’s award of tax credits for a developer’s project and the actual start of construction.

The one of the five projects most likely to get moving in the foreseeable future is the renovation of The Roosevelt, the former downtown hotel-turned apartment complex that is now flood-damaged and empty. Sherman Associates Inc. of Minneapolis said recently that work could begin as soon as April.

In December, the IFA awarded $598,525 to Sherman Associates to acquire and renovate The Roosevelt, and the IFA also awarded $725,464 in tax credits to MetroPlains LLC, St. Paul, Minn., for the construction of Cedar View Apartments, a proposed 45-unit senior-living complex at 1100 O Ave. NW. Cedar View, though, has run into neighborhood opposition and some questions from the City Planning Commission.

In a third project, Sherman Associates has withdrawn plans to build apartments and town houses on a 6-acre site that the city’s Ellis Golf Course formerly used as a practice chipping area. Neighborhood opposition was too organized and strong.

The developers of two other projects — Des Moines developer Jack Hatch’s plans for 96 apartments in the Oak Hill Neighborhood, and the plans of EverGreen Real Estate Development Corp., Prior Lake, Minn., for 90 town homes off Williams Boulevard SW — have yet to obtain approval from the Iowa Finance Authority for tax credits. Hatch’s plans, though, are not expected to see neighborhood opposition, and the EverGreen plan has won backing from the City Planning Commission despite neighbor opposition.

The IFA’s award of tax credits is just a step, and the IFA’s Vaske noted last week that the developer has a tougher job now to put together the entire financing package for a development because the market for tax credits is not what it had been just a couple years ago.

In recent years, he noted, it had been possible for a developer to find the purchaser of tax credits to provide 90 percent of the value of the tax credits to a project in return for the full value of the credits being applied to the investor’s tax liability over 10 years.

Now, the developer may get just 70 percent of the value of the tax credit to apply to a project.

As a result, the developer has to work harder to find other money to make the financing of a project work, the IFA’s Vaske said.

Nonetheless, the core of the financing of these proposed affordable-housing projects comes from the federal government’s tax-credit program. The idea is that the investor contributes money upfront and quality affordable housing gets built in exchange for forgiving the investor some of his tax liability. By getting the investor’s money upfront, the developer can build with limited debt and so can keep rents so they meet federal income guidelines. Arguably, too, developer can build better-quality buildings.

The IFA’s Vaske said the state agency is “hearing some optimism out there” despite the fact that pricing for the tax credits has dropped in the current economic climate.

Both local banks and local corporate investors are expressing interest in some of these tax-credit projects, he said.

The IFA, Vaske added, also is paying particular attention to the recent and sprawling federal stimulus bill to see if there is money in it that can be applied to tax-credit projects to help fill some financing gaps.

“We’ll see if it’s a way to help those projects come about,” he said.

At the end of the day, developers off these projects will often face a wrestling match with neighbors because the name of the tax credits is “low-income housing tax credits.”

[Brady]

United Fire & Casualty is constructing a new 3 story parking ramp in downtown Cedar Rapids on land adjacent to its building that was previously a surface lot for the company. The site is at the corner of 2nd Ave SE and 1st Street SE, kitty corner to the 1st Street Parkade that upper levels have remained closed since the flood and is slated for replacement.




United Fire is also remodeling an adjacent building on 2nd Street and refinishing the exterior to appear more like it's main building.

Link : http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090515/BUSINESS/705159954

[DMRyan]

Boy, that sure is a beaut. We don't have much room to talk over here in the city of parking garages, but this looks like the stuff they were putting out in the 1980's.

[Brady]

Yeah not too impressive. Hopefully its materiality will at least be nice ... and for what it's worth, it is a pretty small site (better than an entire city block taken up by a garage) and the site would probably just sit as an open parking lot for years to come otherwise. I think it will be nice to kind of fill in that block ... and hopefully the redevelopment of the 1st Stret Parkade site (eventually...) and whatever ends up happening in the old courthouse across the street will make up for this new parkade.

[WaterlooDave]

While United Fire should be strongly commmended for continuing to invest in downtown, long run vitality of downtown would be improved by a structure that looks forward instead of back to the 70/80's. They don't have to look very far away to see how a parking structure can be a net positive for downtown.

[BenRoethig]

That structure also takes up a great deal more space. With a corporate ramp like this, the best you could really hope for is for them to put a little extra into the exterior like the Nelson garage in DSM, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

[WaterlooDave]

It was meant to be an example of design style and approach as opposed to simply dropping the same structure into the CR space.

For example the new structure could be designed for some future first floor uses other than parking along the primary street front.

Perhaps install windows to make the structure look like an office building instead of another dated parking structure.

Or perhaps, the approach taken for the exterior of the redstone parking structure in Davenport (courtesy of QCI). See the link below.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/iowa/289039-downtown-davenport-projects-last-5-years.html

[SharpHawkeye]

Yep. It's ugly. It's really, really ugly. But in these times, you can't really blame United Fire for being very conservative and utilitarian (read: cheap) in their design.

Hopefully, the city will consider some better design ideas when they decide to replace their parkade.

[Brady]

Despite being a local, I am actually not too upset with the proposed ramp. Like Ben said, it is only a corporate ramp, and really the site is quite small. It looks like there is a parking level below grade which is why there wouldn't be any ground floor retail / office space. I agree with all the points and criticism on this, but realize the reality is not much better would go there otherwise. I would probably prefer a lifeless 3 story parkade holding the corner edge instead of a lifeless, empty parking lot. The United Fire building is extremely plain so for what its worth, the garage should match it well...

I agree future city parking structures should be held up to much stricter design and ground floor mixed use requirements.

[mustang84]

It's ugly and a waste of a pretty good site downtown. Yes, the site could have just stayed a parking lot, but there's always the potential that something better could have been built there...especially considering that side of United Fire has no windows. Forget about it now, because this ugly ramp will be there for decades to come.

[Brady]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradydorman/3612958428/
Current construction scene at the United Fire parking ramp taken a few days ago.

[Brady]

Also, across the street in the Alliant Tower, Mr. Bean's coffee shop will be reopening in mid July - with seating for about 100, a conference room, and Wi-Fi. Their former flood location was in Towne Center Building at 3rd Ave & 2nd Street. This new location should add some activity to the area around the Alliant Tower, which normally isn't all that active.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090603/BUSINESS/706039925

[CRUNIFan]

Zin's restaurant opens tonight as well! Good to see a few more restaurants opening back up! Hopefully the people come back and support these places.

[Brady]

New downtown library branch opened today in the Armstrong Centre - also library board voted to put a 23 cent library level increase on the Nov ballot to help with operating costs when a new downtown library is built (going from 4 cents / $1000 to 27 cents / $1000). Evidently the library was having a tough time with operating expenses before the flood and rejection of this levy increase could mean building a new library that's actually smaller than the old flooded one because the library couldn't afford to operate that size of building. The typical "anti-tax" comments have flooded the Gazette story, but I think a $23 dollar annual increase on a $100,000 home is an extremely minimal price to pay for the future of our central library. People here need to realize that all citizens of Cedar Rapids, not just those directly affected by the flood, have a responsibility to step up and help our community recover.

Gazette story on levy increase: http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090612/NEWS/706129970/1001/NEWS

my blog post on the matter: http://www.urbanthinking.org/?p=233

[Mastermind]

The property tax bill for the owner of a $150,000 home would go up by about $15 per year if voters approve the tax increase.

Anyone see some fuzzy math in this article?

Polk County shot down a desperately need courthouse with the exact same tax increase of $0.23/per $1,000, so i wouldn't hold my breath on this passing.

[SharpHawkeye]

The property tax bill for the owner of a $150,000 home would go up by about $15 per year if voters approve the tax increase.

Anyone see some fuzzy math in this article?

Polk County shot down a desperately need courthouse with the exact same tax increase of $0.23/per $1,000, so i wouldn't hold my breath on this passing.

Ah, but Des Moines couldn't hang the courthouse tax increase under the banner of "flood relief". Apples and oranges, my friend.

[Brady]

I noticed the fuzzy math in the Gazette article also ... not quite sure about that.

[CRUNIFan]

Cedar Rapids just released its Neighborhood Reinvestment Plans. It will allow people to track the progress of the many proposed and planned projects relating to flood recovery. Amongst them include increased housing, downtown amenities, trail recovery, buy-outs, business assistance, etc.

"Every quarter, the Cedar Rapids Neighborhood Reinvestment Action Plans will be updated here so that you can track the City, neighborhoods, and partner organization’s implementation progress. These plans were created by the neighborhoods impacted by the Flood of 2008. Each element of the action plans includes project status, estimated start date, estimated completion date and other important information. "

http://corridorrecovery.org/neighborhoods/actionplans/

[Mastermind]

Great site, I didnt realize the levies will not be completed until 2020.

[Brady]

The Neighborhood Reinvestment Action Plan seems promising as is lays out specific tasks to be completed, who's involved, who's in charge, and a general timeline for implementation. Included on the online database of the plans are current / already planned city (streets, trails, infrastructure, etc) improvements so they can be tracked as well.

[CRUNIFan]

Cedar Rapids fared extremely well the other day with the announcement of the I-JOBS projects.

Cedar Rapids received $30 million — $5 million for the public library, $5 million for the Paramount Theatre, $5 million for the public works building, $5 million to help steam customer relief and $10 million for the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library.

Linn County was awarded $5 million for the expansion and reconstruction of a community services building that will house Options of Linn County, Community Services, General Assistance, Mental Health and Developmental Disability Services, Veterans Affairs, Home Health and Youth Services.

http://gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090630/NEWS/706309964/1001/NEWS