New substation will spur economic development, if it works

Business owners and residents are hoping a new police substation will prompt a renaissance in the blocks that flank First Avenue East, but the real test will come in the spring.

Warmer months brought a spike in east side crime this year, and Scott Crosby, president of the First Avenue Uptown College District and owner of EnCompass Iowa, is waiting until April 2010 to see if the new substation brings the safety and security he says is vital for economic development between Coe College and the First Avenue Hy-Vee Food Store.

“The real true test is April, May, to June, next year,” Crosby said.

When the flood hit in June 2008, Crosby said that stretch of First Avenue had 10 to 12 open storefronts. After the flood, when dozens of businesses had relocated, those storefronts remained empty.

“Safety and security. It always comes back to that as the roadblock,” Crosby said.

Police Chief Greg Graham pushed for the substation, now officially completed, after the spring spike in Cedar Rapids crime that culminated in the assault on Officer Tim Davis. The city held an open house at the facility Thursday to roll it out to the public.

With floor-to-ceiling windows facing the corner of 15th Street and First Avenue, the new offices have an aquarium's view of the intersection in front of Road Ranger. Police say they understand the connection between security and economic growth.

“We're hoping to increase property value along here,” Police Capt. Steve O'Konek said. “We're hoping to attract good businesses.”

Dubbed the Community Connections center, the city uses the refurbished 5,800-square-foot storefront at 1501 First Ave. SE rent-free in exchange for a free pass on property taxes and utilities for the building's owner, Bob Moran.

Even though security concerns and quality-of-life crime have afflicted the area for years, business owners have long seen the stretch as ripe with potential. It gets more automobile traffic than almost any street in Cedar Rapids, and Coe and Mount Mercy College are both within walking distance.

“Maybe it's bit by bit,” said Craig Erickson, owner of the Music Loft, 1445 First Ave. SE. “First this, and then another business comes in. I definitely hope that happens.”

The facility will house employees from several city departments, including police and fire, leased housing, code enforcement and the Fire Marshal's Office. Corrections will have representatives on site. Police hope community groups will use the station for meetings, and two teachers from the Cedar Rapids School District will eventually tutor students there.

Richard Marsceau, part owner of the coffee shop Brewed Awakenings, 1271 First Ave. SE, is opening the storefront next to the coffee shop as an overflow where his family will display and sell the work of local artists, sell vintage clothing, and host art classes and demonstrations.

He wants the stretch of First Avenue to be more like downtown Iowa City, or downtown Madison, Wis. It won't, he said, unless the substation calms the area during warm months. Until the stretch begins to attract a steady flow of college students and young adults, business will be an uphill struggle.

“We'd like to see it be more of a neighborhood, conducive to people stopping to shop,” he said. “There's a growing unity among the businesses to really make this a viable place.”