Vision Iowa gives $1.6 million to Cedar Rapids amphitheater project

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Vision Iowa Board on Wednesday awarded the city a $1.6-million River Enhancement Community Attraction and Tourism grant for the city's $8.7-million outdoor amphitheater project in downtown Cedar Rapids.

The award nearly caps the effort by the city's Department of Parks and Recreation to piece together funds from the private and public sectors for the project.

“We're excited and happy,” said Julie Sina, the city's parks and recreation director, after the Vision Iowa Board announcement on Wednesday. “This project will really improve the downtown area. We think it's going to be a great addition to the community.”

Dirt will be moving downtown on the west bank of the Cedar River by summer for the project, she said.

The project is part recreational venue and part flood-protection levee, and the levee facet of the project will be the first to take shape. Some trees already have been cut down along the river. The amphitheater, which will be built to flood, will emerge in 2012 with the first big concert slated for 2013.

The amphitheater will be able to accommodate audiences of 5,000 and will feature a sloping lawn, seating terraces, a stage, a riverfront trail and a naturalized river's edge. The project also includes a Festival Park to the south.

The $1.6-million Vision Iowa Board award was $400,000 less than the city had sought, and Sina said the city will push to cover the shortfall from private contributions.

The Hall-Perrine Foundation of Cedar Rapids has agreed to contribute $1 million to the project if the city can raise another $1 million in private contributions. The city has another $186,000 to raise to meet the match, Sina said.

Rockwell Collins and AEGON USA each have contributed $225,000 to the project, CRST Inc., $100,000, and Alliant Energy, $180,000 in in-kind services.

The project also has received a $1.075-million state I-JOBS award.