Library Championship Series

The Cedar Rapids Public Library Board of Trustees selected its two favorite potential library sites Thursday evening.

On to the finals.

One contender is The Gazette Communications block, where I work (oh yes I do). The other is the Emerald Knights block along First Avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets SE.

Adam Belz has full board meeting coverage. It was the first meeting I've attended in my journalism career where action was taken that could lead to the demolition of my office. Was it something I wrote?

Emerald Knight got one more first place vote than The Gazette, due to its location well outside the 2008 flood zone and at what some consider to be a gateway spot just off I-380. The Gazette site is also outside the flood zone and comes with built on parking. Bonus.

It's a tough choice. But barring unforeseen complications, I have to say my money is on The Gazette block.

For one thing, the City Council will make the final call, and I have a feeling they'll be listening carefully to downtown development types who complain that Emerald Knight is too far away from the city's core. Council members may also be sensitive to the conflicting messages sent by encouraging downtown redevelopment at the same time they're moving the public library out of the core. Add that to the corps of engineers levee system smack down, and the downtown sales pitch gets tougher.

The Gazette block seems to represent common ground between downtown advocates and library board members who are skittish, understandibly, about future flooding.  

I could be wrong, of course. We'll know a lot more after a month of negotiations between the city and landowners. The board hopes to make a final recommendation to the council next month.

Either site would be fine, so we'll win either way.