PHOTOS: Czech Village businesses want their neighborhood back

A Disney-like Main Street is not what business owners envision for the Czech Village district.

With the pending demolition of neighboring homes, however, some fear the business strip will become an island.

Nearby blocks that once housed a bustling working-class neighborhood were virtually abandoned after the 2008 flood.

More than 60 of the 150 or so homes from A to C streets and 17th to 22nd avenues SW are on the city's “imminent threat” list and could be demolished as soon as August.

Some turn-of-the-century homes built by Czech immigrants stand solid after taking on up to 12 feet of floodwater, but occupants are rare.

“We want it back the way it was, the way those people who built it wanted it originally,” said George Joens, owner of Joens Bros. Interiors, 59 16th Ave. SW, a Czech Village fixture for 51 years.

Joens, 75, who has met with Mayor Ron Corbett and other council members about the issue, realizes not all the homes can be saved.

Eliminating the housing erases the context of the historical Czech Village district, which provided nearby residents with essentials - bread, meat, dry goods and more - for a century, he and others maintain.

About 20 of the 30-plus businesses on 16th Avenue SW have renovated and reopened, but its neighbors disappeared.

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“We didn't have any choice but to walk away,” said Chris Dostal, 52, a 25-year resident of the neighborhood. “We got no support. We got no guidance. We've got nothing.”

Floodwaters filled the entire first level of his home at 87 19th Ave. SW and lapped 3 feet into the second floor. Renovating the $100,000 home - built in the late 1890s - would cost $170,000, Dostal estimated. Instead, he and his wife, Mary, and daughter, Vicki, 18, moved to a new $175,000 home in southwest Cedar Rapids, away from the Cedar River.

John Huston, 62, of Cedar Rapids, owned three rental homes and built a house in 2002 for his in-laws in the neighborhood.

Like Dostal, he is awaiting word on buyouts from the city.

Restoring the modest homes would cost more than their value, he said. Plus, owners still face the threat of future flooding.

The city lists 62 homes in the neighborhood as imminent health and safety threats, because they were abandoned. With homeowner approval, those could be demolished sometime in August, said Pat Ball, the city's utilities director.

“We're not telling them they can't rebuild,” he said.

Because of its location - A to B streets SW are in a flood construction zone - and with homes in the 100-year flood plain, city leaders decided not to channel local-option sales tax or Jumpstart funds there.

Similarly, Block by Block, the revitalization group rebuilding 24 blocks of Cedar Rapids, will not go into the 100-year flood plain.

City Development Coordinator Jennifer Pratt said, despite rumors, none of the Czech Village neighborhood is designated as future parkland.

“Greenways are designated as anything we can't protect,” she said.

The city's preferred flood-management system has a levee and flood wall between the Cedar River and Czech Village area.

A master plan shows residential redevelopment and mixed use for the neighborhood.

Preservationists are seeing if homes eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places could be renovated as rentals, because commercial properties can recoup half of renovation costs in historical tax credits.

A rent-to-own idea has been floated, where families could purchase homes after five years of renting. Joens would like to see a sweat-equity program, in which families in need of starter homes would contribute to rebuilding efforts.

Having neighbors could help spur business at Czech Village shops that have reopened.

Dostal and his wife, who drive through their old neighborhood nearly every day, used to frequent the Red Frog and other bars and restaurants, but no longer go.

“I want them to make it, but it's not my neighborhood anymore,” he said.

Randy McCunniff, 38, branch manager of U.S. Bank, is aware how much the residential area is needed. While customers have gravitated back to the bank branch at 129 16th Ave. SW, McCunniff, treasurer of the Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District, sees what is happening to other businesses.

From his perspective on the Main Street board, he'd prefer homes over a park that would be used by people unaffected by the flood.

“It would be a shame to see (Czech Village) lose its soul,” McCunniff said.

The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library is gaining momentum at its Kosek site, 87 16th Ave. SW, which recently had its first bus tour since the flood.

Although the museum is a tourist destination, CEO Gail Naughton shares the sentiment of business owners about the homes.

“It's so heartbreaking to see those houses in disrepair,” she said. “If they're all torn down, I just think it's a tragedy that a whole neighborhood is lost.”