Developers eye two Iowa City owned parking lots

IOWA CITY - Growing interest among developers to build on two near-downtown, city-owned parking lots has Iowa City staff seeking direction from the council.

John Yapp, Iowa City development services coordinator, said an amendment to the comprehensive plan would be required before any private development were to take place on the two lots, which are zoned for public use.

'As we talked to developers about these particular properties, we told them before we can get too serious about it, because this involves city-owned property, it's important that we broach the topic with the City Council and get some direction,” Yapp said.

'To even contemplate any kind of private development or public/private development, the first step would be amending the comprehensive plan to reflect that.”

The two lots in question are located within a three-block area - east of Gilbert Street and between Burlington Street and Iowa Avenue - often referred to as the civic district.

One lot is north of City Hall and east of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City building, while the other lot is just east of the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center.

The Iowa City Council is set to take up the matter at its Monday work session and provide direction to staff on whether to begin drafting an amendment to the comprehensive plan.

Earlier this year, a similar comprehensive plan amendment failed to achieve a supermajority vote needed to pass.

Near the lot by UUSIC, Jesse Allen, of Allen Homes, entered into a purchase agreement with the society earlier this year while church officials moved forward with plans to relocate their congregation to Coralville.

An Allen Homes official will present a concept plan for the property at Monday's session.

According to city documents, the developer is interested in preserving the church while building a larger structure that would include the parking lot.

Since an office addition on the south side of the church is not historic, staff have indicated there is potential the city could work with the developer to acquire that space for expansion of the adjacent fire station.

Geoff Fruin, assistant to the city manager, said the project could include a partnership with the developer, in part as a way of preserving the historic church.

'At this point it's really just conceptual discussions with the developer, but I think for the Unitarian church property, if they're going to designate the church a historic landmark, it's going to require the cooperation with the city and some sort of land trade or land swap,” he said.

To the south, officials with New Pioneer Cooperative have been exploring the possibilities of partnering with a developer for the recreation center parking lot since 2013. The latest plan included a six-story multiuse building above existing parking, leaving the parking lot intact.

In both potential projects, staff have suggested goals that include maintaining the existing parking supply while adding more spaces for residential use. And any project on city-owned land should aim for historic preservation, affordable housing and improved streetscapes, the city said.

Any comprehensive plan amendment will come to the council for a formal vote and if approved, both parking lots eventually would have to be rezoned to allow future development.