After the flood, Cargill increased its holdings in the Flats

Rex and Cheryl Dietz lived at 1024 16th Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids, and Cheryl's mother, Shirley Ferguson, across the street in a house that had been in the family for generations. Cheryl's brother rented a nearby home from them.

Known locally as the Flats, the neighborhood was an early Bohemian settlement dating back more than 150 years. It boomed into a full-fledged neighborhood with grocery stores and bars when the growth of the nearby Sinclair meat packing plant created a high demand for workers.

Then came the floods of 2008.

"It was a perfect opportunity for Cargill (Corp.) to come in and buy the properties they were looking for as room to expand," Rex Dietz recalled.

Cargill was initially offering only pre-2008-flood assessed tax valuation. So the Dietzes decided to rebuild the rental home and their own to conditions better than before the flood.

Their intention was to stay.

While the Dietzes were rebuilding, Cargill bought and demolished most of the neighboring homes from residents and absentee owners. Rex Dietz, a former Cargill employee, said he believed the company had done a fairly good job of working with the neighborhood on its concerns about the plant's growth over the years.

Initial uncertainty about city rebuilding requirements and restrictions also "scared off" some homeowners who might have rebuilt, Rex Dietz said. Because of age or other factors, many of them would have been unable to perform much of the physical work of rebuilding themselves, as he did.

After Dietz and his wife Cheryl rebuilt, "Cargill came knocking," Rex said. "They wanted those parcels that were left."

The couple declined Cargill's first offer, but the company came back several months later with a deal they liked better. They sold in September 2009 and have moved to an acreage in the country.

Their previous home site is now a Cargill parking lot, Rex Dietz said.

THE BUFFER

Cargill said the  parcels of land it's acquired since the June 2008 flood near its corn milling plant in Cedar Rapids eventually could allow for a rail expansion and possibly new offices.

A Gazette property record search in May found Cargill had acquired at least 23 parcels since the June 2008 flood in the general area bounded by its corn milling plant at 1710 16th St. SE, Sinclair Park, the Cedar River and 15th Ave. SE. Most were purchased directly from homeowners who lost their properties in the flood, although some were purchased from the city or lending institutions.

"After the flood destroyed the houses and the area surrounding, Cargill made the decision to purchase the land as a buffer and for possible use in the future," said Nicole Reichert, a Cargill spokeswoman.

Since Cargill bought the facility in 1967, Reichert said its grind capacity has grown from 16,000 bushels per day to 108,000 bushels. Cargill can produce about 200 different food products, including corn syrup, food starches and pet-food ingredients.

Many of the homes in the neighborhood did not command high prices because of their age, small size and condition that were reflected in assessed valuations.

Cargill didn't respond to a request for information about the  real estate it purchased, but revenue tax information on deeds recorded in the transfers give some insight into the kinds of prices it paid. A property at 936 16th Ave. SE was acquired for about $48,000, while a property at 921 16th Ave. SE was purchased for about $39,500, and another at 1629 10th St. SE was bought for about $32,500.

The revenue tax data shows prices within a $500 range.

Rex Dietz said he sometimes misses the old neighborhood, despite the factory almost next door and the poor condition of properties on some of the other streets in the flats. He is happy with his new home, but knows some past neighbors who had to settle for homes less desirable than those they left.

While he is convinced that Cargill will expand the plant, company officials said they have no such plans at present.

A rail expansion is "a very limited possibility," according to Darin Farrey, engineering manager for Cargill. He said the company is aware of a desire to shift more rail-switching activity out of the downtown area, but the newly acquired parcels won't be the location.

"It's not suited for a big rail yard, just widening out the rail a little bit," Farrey said.

The plant's office needs have increased since the plant was built in the 1950s, Farrey said, due in part to heightened food safety and security regulations that require more personnel and procedures.

One potential use for some of the land is a new office facility, which could be built in a way to minimize flood exposure, Farrey said. Any such improvements likely would be 10 or 15 years away, he said.

Until flood protection is built, the plant remains exposed. Cargill has made some modifications to equipment inside the plant and to the roadways on the site to reduce the impact if flooding occurs, Farrey said.

WHAT NEXT?

A community development group, the Southside Investment Board, has meet with Cargill to determine what its next step would be.

"We hope there is a new office over by the Sinclair site," investment board member Dale Todd said, referring to the former Sinclair meat packing plant acquired by the city for redevelopment.

Farrey said the group wanted to share its vision for the area with Cargill. He said Cargill and the group reached a mutual understanding about Cargill's direction, but its plans are not set in stone and there is no firm agreement.

A geographic information system created by the city of Cedar Rapids flood-recovery effort shows about 8 properties in the neighborhood have received city flood buyouts, and 12 have been demolished by the city.

Cargill's buying spree likely reduced the amount the city had to spend on buyouts and accelerated the process for property owners who were seeking to get reestablished.

Four of the properties acquired by Cargill are on the diagonal section of 10th Street SE where trucks turn off 15th Ave. SE to enter its plant.

Only four inhabitable homes remain of the dozens that once stood in the neighborhood, with a few still occupied. A fifth home at 931 16th Ave SE was recently heavily damaged by fire.