A step in I.C.’s downtown evolution

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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As Iowa City stakeholders brainstorm the future of downtown, developer Marc Moen sees a challenge he wants to tackle.

He wants to renovate and repurpose one longtime bar property recently closed in the wake of the city's 21-only ordinance, converting thousands of square feet into retail and office space.

But breathing new life into the former Vito's building on the city's Pedestrian Mall won't be cheap. The building, including a second floor that has been left vacant for decades, will need substantial structural repairs.

Moen has asked for $250,000 in tax increment financing to help with the $2 million project - money that he'll use to add an elevator, replace the roof, heating, ventilation and air conditioning units.

The City Council's Economic Development Committee has given the project, and the city's buy-in, its unanimous support. Now it's up to the full council to approve. We think they should.

Moen hopes to entice a national retailer into the building's 5,247-square-foot first floor, with high-end office space in nearly 4,000 square feet above. That's in keeping with City Manager Tom Markus' vision of a strong, more diverse city core.

And it appears to be a good investment risk. City staff estimate the new development will generate $31,250 in additional property taxes each year once the TIF is fulfilled.

City leaders and residents for years have called for more retail options in the downtown area. As council member Regenia Bailey noted during a recent Economic Development Committee meeting, Moen's leadership could well have a ripple effect - spurring other developers to invest in projects that will drive downtown's evolution from a predominantly alcohol-fueled entertainment district to thriving city center.

And Moen's track record shows he's up to the task. This project reminds us of another ambitious development Moen undertook just a decade ago.

In 2002, when Moen got approval for the Plaza Towers building - 14 stories of mixed-use office and hotel, retail and residential space - planners and residents had wanted a full-service grocery downtown. Appraisers at the time called Plaza Towers a “visionary, very risky and very complicated economic development project.”

But Moen made it a reality. When the first grocer pulled out just a few months after opening, for example, Moen found another tenant to fill the space. That business appears to be thriving.

While we don't want to see national chain stores take over downtown Iowa City, a well-known name or two would be part of a healthy mix. Moen's project has the potential to drive more traffic downtown - something that could benefit all businesses.

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