CRST Complex close to welcoming first tenant

CEDAR RAPIDS — After two years of construction, the first occupant of the newest tower in downtown Cedar Rapids — the CRST Center on First Street SE — is on track to take occupancy in a little more than one month, project officials say.

On any given day, more than 200 workers are tackling tasks up and down, inside and out the 11-story, glass and Spanish terracotta-sided structure. On Thursday, a team laid imported tile in the main entryway, a small army sanded drywall and hung cabinets on the fourth and fifth floors, and woven vinyl flooring covered the surface on 10.

'It looks like a lot left to do, but when you start to see flooring and ceiling tile go in, it really comes together pretty quickly,' said David Hayek, a senior project manager for Ryan Companies, the general contractor for the $37 million project.

The CRST Center is part of a changing skyline in downtown Cedar Rapids, particularly at the intersection of First Street SE and Third Avenue SE where the old Smulekoff's furniture building is months into an overhaul. The Gazette on Tuesday provides a look at the progress at Smulekoff's and what tenants are coming to the building.

'We appreciate the thought and attention CRST put into making the building a positive contribution to the architecture of our downtown,' said Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz. 'This, and many other new projects underway, will continue to add to the vitality, amenities and beauty of our city.'

STICKING OUT — IN A GOOD WAY

John and Dyan Smith and family are developing the CRST Center. John Smith is board chairman of CRST International, which is to be the first tenant and occupy the fourth and fifth floors beginning Aug. 8.

The fourth and fifth floors are among the most noticeable external elements of the building because they are turned perpendicular to the other floors. A horseshoe-shaped outdoor terrace wraps around the fourth floor for employee breaks and special events, providing a scenic view of the city and Cedar River.

Driving in from Interstate 380, the CRST Center is one of the first things motorists see in downtown Cedar Rapids.

'It's going to stick out in downtown — in a good way,' Hayek said.

Much of the building is being restricted to employees, but it was important to make it an asset to the community from the outside, said Landon Burg, lead architect on the project for OPN Architects.

From the outside, residents may notice a 'diving board' effect. A white aluminum composite metal stretches vertically up the north-side facade, across the roof and cantilevers over a parking ramp, which juts out below, to make the structure appear more cohesive, he said.

The rusted red-colored terracotta panels contrast with metal panels and glass curtain walls to blend a modern aesthetic with historic brick facades of downtown, he said.

'We chose terracotta to bring color and add context to the surroundings,' he said.

Once completed, Ryan Companies is to manage the CRST property.

MEET THE TENANTS

CRST plans to move 60 administrative employees in finance, accounting and human resources and executive offices from the CRST campus on 16th Avenue SW, said CRST spokeswoman Brooke Willey. The company plans to maintain the 16th Avenue SW property.

Three other major tenants — Bankers Trust on floors 10 and 11, RSM International on eight and nine and Holmes Murphy on seven — are expected to take occupancy in October. Alliant Energy, which occupies the neighboring 18-story structure, has rights to the seventh floor but does not plan to move in immediately, said Amy Lynch, assistant treasurer for the Smith family's Cedar Real Estate Group III.

Each tenant space is unique with sleek staircases for internal connections between the floors and expansive reception areas. Balconies pier out over the river on the upper floors.

Floors one, two and three have a 228-stall parking ramp. The building is on the former site of the First Street Parkade, which was flood damaged in 2008 and demolished in 2011. The city spent $368,778 to remove additional foundations for this project before construction began in 2014. CRST bought the land from the city for $498,817.

The city also granted $8.35 million in tax breaks and the project received $1.75 million in tax credits through the Iowa Economic Development Authority's former Enterprise Zone Program, according to city officials. The city is bearing the cost of a $4 million flood wall with underground pump station built as part of the project, in accordance with Army Corps of Engineers requirements. A river walk eventually is to run adjacent to the building. The $84,000 project is to be completed by the city this fall.

Bankers Trust plans to open a branch location on the ground floor, and a second retail space is also unspoken for on the first floor, Lynch said. That could be a coffee-breakfast-lunch spot for building employees, with the intent it won't compete with other businesses downtown, she said. The only other vacancy is a smaller corporate office space on the seventh floor, she said.

Officials are still getting a handle on how many people are to work in the building, she said.

BY THE NUMBERS

Here is a look at some of the numbers behind the new CRST Center in downtown Cedar Rapids:

Height: 180 feet tall

Space: 113,000 square-feet

Floors: 11

Parking spaces: 228

Elevators: 3

Staircases: 2

Tenants: 5 so far

Footings: 5 miles of steel piles driven into bedrock

Piles: 40 to 90 feet deep

Glass: 43,000 square feet

Fourth level roof plaza: 7,500 square feet

Terracotta tiles: 17,000 square feet set individually by hand

Hours worked: 220,000