Cedar Rapids taking ownership of former federal courthouse this week

The swap is finally going to happen.

At its meeting on Tuesday evening, the City Council will approve an agreement in which the city will take over ownership of the former federal courthouse at 101 First Street SE in exchange for the land on which the new federal courthouse in now going up down the block of First Street SE.

The property exchange has long been part of the negotiations between the city and the federal government.

It was way back in December 2005 when the city signed an agreement with 2001 Development Corp. to buy the land for the new courthouse. The price listed in 2005 was $1.3 million.

The city also paid to make the site ready for construction, the U.S. General Services Administration has reported.

Greg Eyerly, the city's flood-recovery directory, on Monday said that the GSA repaired the flood damage to the old federal courthouse, “and they didn't cheap it either.” He said the GSA told him it spent $7.5 million to repair the building.

On a tour of the building earlier this year, council member Don Karr marveled at the new mechanical and electrical systems in the building.

Eyerly, though, noted that the GSA put the systems back where they had been and did not protect them against a future flood of the magnitude of the June 2008 flood.

No funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were used in the renovation. GSA paid for it, the city has pointed out.

The city intends to put city offices in the building, and Eyerly already has come to calling it “City Hall East.” It's just down the street from the Veterans Memorial Building, which is being renovated now with the help of state I-JOBS funds so City Hall can return there. State I-JOBS funds also will help the city turn the old federal courthouse into city offices.