Linn County moves to list Mott Building on historical register

Linn County supervisors have taken an early step toward placing the county-owned Mott Building on the National Register of Historic Places, while working with Cedar Rapids to preserve its viability for a future owner.

Supervisors voted this morning to hire Tallgrass Historians of Iowa City to prepare the nominating application for the building at 42 Seventh Ave. SW, near the site of the planned riverside amphitheater. Tallgrass also prepared the county's inventory of historic buildings, which found the Mott property is eligible for the Register.

Cedar Rapids has asked the county to turn over a parcel between the building and the Cedar River to allow construction of a levee, part of the neighborhood's flood-protection plan. County Board Chairman Ben Rogers, D-Cedar Rapids, said the county is working with city staff locate land within Cedar Rapids to swap for the riverside parcel.

The county may also ask the city to vacate the alley near the Mott Building to preserve access to the structure, a potential candidate for purchase and rehabilitation for residential or commercial use.

Now known for a later tenant, the structure was built in 1900 for the Iowa Windmill & Pump Company. County supervisors turned down a $575,000 offer for the building in April 2008. The building has been used for storage for the past several years.