Hunter’s plat plan for Transamerica site back on at Cedar Rapids panel

CEDAR RAPIDS — Initial plans for a mixed-use development at the former Transamerica site — ones that sparked concerns among residents — is back on the Cedar Rapids City Planning Commission agenda after the developer pulled it last month to gather more input.

The commission will consider Cedar Rapids-based Hunter Companies’ preliminary plat for the 52-acre site at its 3 p.m. Nov. 18 meeting at Cedar Rapids City Hall, 101 First St. SE.

The site, at Edgewood Road and 42nd Street NE, was home to former Transamerica office buildings that have been demolished.

Hunter Companies, which is under contract to buy the land from Transamerica, said in October it withdrew its preliminary subdivision plat to gather more neighborhood input.

Shannon Thompson, general counsel for Hunter, said in an email the developer has engaged with neighbors in the weeks since.

“To the best of their knowledge, they have followed up with everyone who has contacted them or the City directly,” Thompson said of the outreach efforts. “Hunter Companies has also held small group meetings. They will continue outreach efforts leading up to the City Planning Commission meeting.”

Thompson said these small-group meetings have typically been with five or six people, at Hunter Companies’ of-

fices or at people’s homes. She said the smaller groups “are more productive and more conducive to discussion.” Hunter initially held a neighborhood meeting in October that drew over 100 residents.

Resident Dave Watson, who organized a Facebook group called “42nd and EDGEWOOD Save our neighborhood,” said he and others have been seeking more follow-up communication from the company since the preliminary subdivision plat was pulled.

In the last several weeks, Watson said opposition has grown as word has spread. Over 200 residents are on a phone list and over 300 are on an email list, he said, and nearly 200 belong to the Facebook group.

“We’re kind of confused, but I guess we’re just going to man up and show up in numbers again at City Hall,” Watson said.

Residents were concerned primarily about excessive traffic off Edgewood Road and 42nd Street NE, a busy intersection with many nearby businesses, schools and other facilities. Some residents also took issue with plans for tree removal, after the 2020 derecho caused widespread tree loss and also were worried about flooding because of plans to fill in retention ponds used for stormwater management on the site.

The residents “don’t want to have an uprising or anything like that,” Watson said. “They just want to be heard.”

The preliminary plat designates proposed lot lines and roads or access points to the site. The drawing has not changed since it was on the October commission agenda.

“Hunter Companies will incorporate the City Planning Commission’s feedback concerning tree removal, traffic and stormwater management into its future plans,” Thompson said, but these items are typically not reflected on a plat drawing.

Hunter Companies has not said what it intends to build at the Transamerica site. But it has built other mixed-use projects in Cedar Rapids, including Northtowne Market across from Target on Blairs Ferry Road NE, which includes restaurants such as Moe’s Southwest Grill and Jimmy John’s as well as elevate salon and spa.

Hunter Companies also developed the Berthel Fisher Financial Center, near the Transamerica site, and Edgewood Station and Edgewood Market on Edgewood Road SW near Westdale.

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