Three firms now contracted to tear down flooded Cedar Rapids homes

Three different demolition firms are now under contract with the city to tear down flood-damaged houses.

D.W. Zinser Co., of Walford, has been on the job the longest; Kelly Demolition LLC of Mount Vernon, Iowa, also is under contract; and the City Council this week hired Dore & Associates Contracting Inc., Bay City, Mich., to tear down 165 homes in the city's southwest quadrant.

Dore submitted the low bid - $909,168 - among 13 contractors for the latest demolition contract involving 165 homes. Zinser's bid of $1,020,477 was fourth and Kelly's bid of $1,246,815 was seventh.

Pat Ball, the city's utility director, told the council that the latest batch of 165 homes is the last of the homes that have been declared “imminent threats” and need to come down.

The city has another 476 flood-damaged homes on its buyout list not yet slated for demolition. The city has offered give to contractors and developers any of these homes if they are willing to renovate and sell them. Some would first need to be moved to safer ground.

Council member Chuck Wieneke this week said neighbors were correct when they said that Kelly was doing a good job of preparing newly vacant lots to grow grass while other lots had not been left in such a condition after demolition.

Ball said work on the other lots had not been completed yet, and he said those lots, too, would be left in good condition when the work is done.