Third Street SE gets a second look to vitalize downtown Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — City of Cedar Rapids officials and business owners are open to options for vitalizing Third Street SE — a key connection between downtown and the New Bohemia District — as consultants move forward on crafting a new vision for the city’s urban core.

For years, this corridor has been seen as a prime opportunity for transformation to draw residents and visitors downtown. But the COVID-19 pandemic left a lasting mark on the workforce, further emptying out buildings along the street and leaving fewer employees venturing downtown to work, dine and shop during the day.

Now, it’ll take buy-in from businesses and property owners along the street to fully realize the potential of Third Street SE, said Brad Segal, president of Denver-based Progressive Urban Management Associates. The consultants are refreshing the downtown Vision Plan, a joint effort of the city, Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Linn County government and 2001 Development Group, a local property ownership group that has bought and sold downtown buildings over the last 30 years.

The consultants are recommending transforming Third Street SE into a festival or flex street that promotes more pedestrian and bicyclist usage, modeled after places such as Indianapolis’ Cultural Trail or Denver’s Larimer Square. They draw people to public streets that can be closed to vehicles or at least generate more foot traffic where businesses are concentrated, enticing them to spend more time and money in the area.

“Long term, you'll need to get the property owners involved in any redesign of the street, and the property owners should be brought on as co-investors,” Segal said. “If the city or community is putting a lot of money into redesigning that street, the property owner should have an expectation from your front end that they're going to have a responsibility (with tenants).”

For example, Segal said property owners could explore giving up a year’s rent or other methods of attracting tenants to a building and add more independent retailers downtown, making an ecosystem that’s less reliant on office space.

“They need to have some skin in the game as well,” Segal said. “It's not just about redesigning Third Street. It's really looking at Third Street ecosystem, if you will, and the building owners have the vertical element of that. The city can change the horizontal element, can change the street. But the property owners have got to be on board, too. If they're not willing to step up and offer some incentives in good faith for that investment, you may not want to do it.”

  Buy Photo

One option consultants shared was removing the underused space in the middle of the street and the current bike lanes, instead creating a stand-alone cycle track — a space that keeps bike and vehicle traffic separate using physical barriers.

Another option is to remove the curbs on Third Street SE, encouraging pedestrians and drivers to share traffic but essentially discouraging vehicle traffic and promoting pedestrian use. Bicyclists and cars would share the road, but marked pavers could slow traffic to improve safety. San Francisco, Seattle and Philadelphia are among the cities experimenting with curbless streets to reduce traffic deaths.

In both options, the width of the sidewalks would be expanded so businesses could consider more outdoor dining options. Street parking would be retained.

The city in 2014 installed Iowa’s first permanent green on-street bike lanes on Third Street SE. The Economic Alliance has put up holiday lights and decorations along this street in the winter to add streetscaping.

Working with renowned urban planner Jeff Speck, the city previously had tried having planters in the street and parklets — public seating platforms that turn curbside parking spaces into community areas as a cheaper alternative to widening sidewalks.

Cedar Rapids officials are pursuing a “woonerf” convertible street in Czech Village, among other changes, to foster this sort of on-the-street activity — designing the street with methods that may include shared space or lower speed limits to be friendly to pedestrians. Community Development Director Jennifer Pratt said city officials are open to replicating that in some way for downtown.

“You are in an existing built-out street, so you do have to balance all of these other needs and have that buy-in from all the property owners, so it's getting to the same end result but it'll be very different on how we do it,” Pratt said.

There are some drinking and dining options on the street with Pub 217, Map Room, Iowa Brewing Company, Cliff’s Dive Bar and Grill and Taco Gato. Other uses, including Veritas Church and Café as well as Theatre Cedar Rapids, make up the street. The Gazette also is a tenant on the street.

Local developer Steve Emerson also has purchased the long-vacant Guaranty Bank building and is pursuing plans for housing and possibly some hotel rooms.

But there also are several vacant properties: The Arco building on Third Street and Third Avenue SE, where the ground-floor retail has emptied out; The Warehouse on Third and the building across the street that used to house a Honeywell office; and the Bills Bros. Furniture building that once housed Bills' Bros. Clearance Corner.

  Buy Photo

As Cedar Rapids strives for a more mixed-use downtown, it’s those empty properties that will challenge development prospects for Third Street SE.

“It's going to take some resources as well,” City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said. “ … In the end it's going to be left to the private sector and the public sector to try to figure it out. And we're ready to do it.”

Justin Zehr, co-owner of several downtown-area businesses, including Taco Gato and Cliff’s, put it simply: “We need more Steves,” referring to Emerson, the most prolific downtown developer.

Segal said there are talented local developers, but the city may look to entice more out-of-town developers to spur redevelopment downtown.

Craig Stephan, president of Iowa Brewing and a member of the Downtown Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District commission, said Third Street SE should be a focus of the vision planning efforts.

“It’s been known our area is like a dead zone,” Stephan said. “The city doesn’t know what to do with that. … I’m not a developer, but we need to broaden Third Street’s appeal if we want it to be lively.”

Ultimately, he said what downtown needs most is more people living and working there. Housing projects coming online should help, but so would other amenities such as a grocery store, Stephan said.

“Being downtown during the day lends (workers) to stopping for a beer or a sandwich after work downtown,” Stephan said.

He supported an idea consultants mentioned of having a trolley to take people from NewBo or other core districts to key downtown destinations such as the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

Zehr agreed with the trolley idea and said more hotel rooms are needed downtown so tourism officials can book larger events and tournaments. Major events help bring people into downtown restaurants and bars to spend money.

“If it’s not everyone coming back to work, then the events are going to have to make up for it in order to have a lively downtown,” Zehr said.

For those spending time downtown at night, especially along the active Second Avenue and Third Street SE where bars are concentrated, Zehr also said it’s important for police to control crowds and maintain a proactive presence.

“We should feel safe downtown,” Zehr said. “Otherwise, people aren't going to come out.”

Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com