Cedar Rapids council signals vital financial support for NewBo City Market; could be open a year from now

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council last night signaled that it would provide the financial support needed to transform a former industrial site on Third Street SE into a $6-million NewBo City Market.

The support will include $3 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds, which is a portion of some $40 million in FEMA funds coming to the city in repayment for certain flood-damaged, city-owned properties that no longer can be used.

One of those properties is the proposed site of the NewBo City Market, which will sit on the former Quality Chef site between 11th and 12th avenues on Third Street SE in the New Bohemia arts and entertainment district. The city purchased the property in 2005 with a mind to demolish it for redevelopment.

Sarah Ordover, president of the non-profit NewBo City Market board of directors, told the council last night that the board also hoped to secure a $1-million state Community Attraction and Tourism grant and to raise $1 million in private donations for the project.

Ordover put the value of the city-owned property at $900,000, including demolition and property remediation.

Council member Monica Vernon suggested that the city lease the land to the market for $1 a year for 10 years to start with.

Ordover said the NewBo City Market plan calls for it to build a two-story building along Third Street SE to house a market hall for part-time vendors. The hall will attach to a market store, which will be housed in an existing historic building on the site. The two-story market hall also will feature an arts and crafts gallery.

The plan also calls for retaining a metal industrial building on the back of the property for the market's use.

Ordover said the hope is to open in the spring of 2011 with the market being fully functioning by 2012.

She said the market could house 40 to 60 vendors and could sell $2.1 million a year in fresh food. That would take about 2.1 percent of such business away from existing stores, she estimated.

Vernon said the market was a “great deal” for the council and the community. Already, she said interest in real estate in the neighborhood as increased because of the plans for market and other redevelopment.

“It's the most exciting thing to come to the city in a long time,” Vernon said.

Council member Don Karr noted that the city would not be getting any property-tax dollars from the Quality Chef site with the market, but Ordover noted that the city had not gotten any since it purchased the vacant “eyesore” five years ago.

Council member Tom Podzimek said the market might be taken on more property than it can manage, and he suggested that the market only focus on the half block of property along Third Street SE. The majority of the council, though, didn't seem to agree.

Council members Chuck Swore and Chuck Wieneke wondered why the Linn County Board of Supervisors weren't contributing to the project since many of the vendors would be coming from Linn County.