'Magic Bus' may return to old spot near Kinnick

Outside Properties, the owners of the former location of the Magic Bus, a long-time tailgating staple for Iowa football games, say they are in talks with a few organizations including the Magic Bus as to what they can do with the property at 817 Melrose Ave.

The Melrose property owners' proposed Stadium Club venture was denied a temporary-use permit and liquor license for violating a zoning code after paving the entire rear yard and adding fencing to the property. Their plan was to use the lot for commercial parking when not being used as a tailgate area, something Iowa City director of Housing and Inspection Services Doug Boothroy said is not allowed.

Aside from commercial parking being restricted at the location, making permanent improvements to a area that is proposed as a temporary-use site violates the temporary-use requirements.

Boothroy said he expected a comprehensive plan by Wednesday evening from Jim Clark, one of the property owners, showing how the company is going to improve the area to comply with the zoning ordinance.

“It will be a dimension-detailed site that I can go out and measure myself,” Boothroy said. “They are going to have to meet the requirements to have a temporary-use permit by the first gameday.”

The main change Outside Properties will have to make is removing the 23-car parking lot they paved without permission from the city. But Boothroy said even these improvements will not allow for a liquor license because an outdoor service area liquor license requires the location to be at least 100 feet from residential use.

For this reason, Boothroy believes the Magic Bus may have a good chance to meet an agreement and return to the location because as a non-profit organization, they do not need a liquor license.

But another property owner, Tracy Barkalow, said they are not close to any decision and are considering offers from a few other organizations. But until they can meet the city's requirements, nothing can be done.

“We have not come to a resolution with the city yet,” Barkalow said. “There have been some proposals back and forth, but something will have to eventually be done.”

Barkalow added he is 100 percent confident the property will be utilized during home football games.

“I bought the property as an investment, and it we will find something to do with it,” he said.

The Melrose hot-spot had been home to the Magic Bus for several years. After Outside Properties bought the property in 2009 for $500,000, a rental agreement could not be met with Magic Bus organizers. The bus considered a move to 110 Woodside Dr., but were denied a temporary-use permit in July after failing to meet two of the seven required criteria including proper public and emergency access to the tailgate.

Jeremy Freerks, a member of the Iowa City Ducks Rugby Club, which owns an operates the Magic Bus said he did not want to comment until something was resolved.

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