TrueNorth buying former Intermec building in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - An expansion planned by TrueNorth Companies will fill a vacant office building in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Randall Rings, TrueNorth chief administrative officer and general counsel, said the insurance and financial strategies provider expects to complete the $2 million purchase of the former Intermec office building at 550 Second St. SE this week.

'Initially we plan to convert the lower level and the next level to parking. They are pretty wide open right now,” Rings said. 'Near term flood mitigation is to have that as something that can be easily cleaned and converted.

'We will market the top two floors as available for tenants. Until we have a better sense of who will be leasing the space, we're not going to do any further work up there beyond a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system upgrade.

'We will move some of the equipment to get some flood protection for the HVAC system.”

Rings said TrueNorth eventually may occupy all or part of the additional office space if its growth continues as projected. 'This way, we will have a longer-term plan for parking and people,” he said.

On March 29, the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board agreed to amend an existing contract with TrueNorth for the $2.5 million build out of 17,000 square feet of unfinished space on the second floor of its corporate headquarters at 500 First St. SE. The board in October had approved $138,476 of investment tax credits for the project, which will enable the company to create an additional 57 jobs.

The amended contract will include the purchase of the former Intermec building and an additional investment of $1.2 million for the parking conversion and HVAC upgrade. TrueNorth was approved for an additional $60,750 in investment tax credits and a $6,450 refund of sales, service and use taxes.

Intermec moved in March 2014 to a new $12.5 million, 81,000-square-foot building at 601 Third St. SE. Cedar Rapids. Mayor Ron Corbett hailed the purchase of the former Intermec building as another milestone for downtown Cedar Rapids.

'A lot of people thought Intermec's two old buildings would sit dormant for years after the company constructed its new building,” Corbett said. 'Steve Emerson (Cedar Rapids developer and real estate investor) stepped up. One of the buildings is being transformed into a church and TrueNorth is purchasing and making a substantial investment in the other building.”