House move clears way for new Cedar Rapids park

CEDAR RAPIDS — The way Dwight Hughes Jr. sees it, a swath of land on Wilson Avenue in southwest Cedar Rapids is an ideal place to build a park.

He should know. His grandfather is the one who planted more than 100 trees on the 7.5-acre property that served as the original home to the family business — Hughes Nursery & Landscaping.

'This ground has over 100 trees on it that are over 100 years old that Grandpa planted,' Hughes said. 'It'll be perfect for a park and preserve.'

An important step in that process took place Thursday morning thanks to a unique partnership between the landscaping company, Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity and the city of Cedar Rapids.

Structure relocation

Map by John McGlothlen / The Gazette

Shortly after 9 a.m., a crew from Marshalltown-based Ferneau & Sons House Moving & Raising hoisted a 60-year-old home located on the property at 2012 Wilson Ave. SW as part of an effort to move the structure to an empty site three blocks away. In doing so, the land is now cleared for city officials to begin planning for a new park. The 1,200-square-foot house, built in 1955 for Hughes' grandmother, has been donated by the family to Habitat for Humanity and is soon to be converted into a home for a family in need.

'We believe it was a win-win-win in terms of the (Hughes) family being able to preserve this home,' said Jeff Capps, executive director of Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity. 'Obviously the greater community benefit for the park, but then for us being able to serve another family with an affordable homeownership opportunity, that's our mission.'

Capps said $100,000 in cash and in-kind donations is being used to buy the empty lot at 2425 Wilson Ave. SW and coordinate the house move. Capps said the city's ROOTs program — which helps replace housing units lost in the 2008 flood — is to cover 25 percent of the cost of the home for its future buyer.

Capps said the house needs minimal remodeling and should be ready by fall.

Sven Leff, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, said the city is buying the land — first purchased by the Hughes family in 1908 — for $403,000, of which $300,000 comes from an Iowa Department of Natural Resources Enhancement and Protection grant.

'For us, not only do we have a known need for neighborhood parks in the area, but to do that on basically raw land with good trees and good prairie grasses, is real luck,' Leff said.

He said he expects development of the park to take three to five years.

City Councilman Justin Shields, who represents the district where the new park is to be located, said he's been working to bring a park to this area of town for some time.

'There's not a lot of parks or not really any area conducive to that,' he said. 'So I've been looking for more opportunity for more parks in the neighborhood.'

Shields said area residents have reached out expressing interest in being part of the park planning process, which he thinks is a good idea.