116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Riverfront dining, events on May’s Island, more retail: Here’s what’s in Cedar Rapids’ Downtown Vision Plan
City Council to vote on plan, which offers a 5-year guide for city center’s post-pandemic transformation
CEDAR RAPIDS — After facing pandemic woes and natural disasters that have drastically altered downtown, the future of Cedar Rapids’s city center hinges on its transformation into a vibrant, mixed-use district, according to a newly unveiled vision plan. It should draw on the activity of surrounding core neighborhoods, activate the Cedar River and offer regular programming to lure residents and visitors into the heart of the city.
The Cedar Rapids City Council will vote at its noon Tuesday meeting in City Hall, 101 First St. SE, to adopt the refreshed Downtown Vision Plan that was created by Denver-based consultant Progressive Urban Management Associates. It provides a five-year vision to revitalize downtown, and identifies strategies and entities responsible for accomplishing initiatives outlined in the plan.
Among the questions facing local stakeholders involved with the plan, once it is adopted, is whether to revamp the management structure of downtown. That could change who provides oversight of downtown programming, which staff manage major downtown events and initiatives, and possibly create a new organization to house downtown business activities.
The vision plan is a partnership between the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, the Downtown SSMID (Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District), the city of Cedar Rapids, Linn County and the 2001 Development Corp. — a local property ownership group that has bought and sold downtown buildings over the last 30 years. More than 1,600 individuals, groups, institutions, organizations, city staff and appointed and elected officials provided input on the plan’s development.
Nikki Wilcox, the Economic Alliance’s strategic development director who was on the plan working group, said it is the culmination of several entities’ love for and dedication to downtown and making it a place that thrives.
“All thriving communities have a thriving downtown,” Wilcox said. “ … We want the Cedar Rapids metro to be a place that people want to live and play. The best way to have that kind of community is to have a thriving downtown.”
Local officials collaborating on the plan have already signaled support for previously released recommendations that call for “catalytic projects” activating connections between the downtown and areas such as the New Bohemia District, Czech Village and Kingston Village. These projects would involve repurposing underused spaces on Third Street SE and the Second Avenue Bridge into spaces where people can dine, gather and attend events, as well as improvements to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail connection.
But to optimize downtown services and implement the plan recommendations, and ultimately align with the practices of most cities nationwide, the plan suggests “a strengthened public/private downtown management approach.” It weighs the pros and cons of the existing management structure and explores two alternatives: creating a more distinct downtown business center within the alliance or having the SSMID contract with an independent nonprofit.
How to activate downtown
The 2008 flood, which resulted in $5.4 billion in damages over 1,000 blocks in the heart of Cedar Rapids, and the 2020 derecho’s destructive hurricane-force winds have drastically challenged downtown’s physical environment. Compounding the damage from those natural disasters are the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have dampened demand for office space and reduced employee worker traffic.
These pandemic disruptions have made it difficult to attract and retain storefront retail businesses. A lack of regular programming, competition from the core districts and Uptown Marion and a perception that downtown is unsafe as foot traffic dwindles also threaten downtown.
Overall, the plan envisions a mix of housing, expanded retail and restaurant offerings and more resident-serving amenities such as convenience retail and dog parks to serve the growing residential population. Over time, that would build on existing private investments in housing development and public investment in flood infrastructure and other enhancements.
The plan envisions embracing the river by:
- Incorporating it into the built environment.
- Converting the Second Avenue Bridge to a flexible festival street in the short-term and a linear park in the long run.
- Activating May's Island.
- Improving public spaces adjacent to the river and supporting the permanent flood control system.
To activate downtown, the plan recommends:
- Boosting the storefront economy and diversifying ground-floor offerings.
- Ensuring downtown is clean, safe and inviting.
- Attracting and retaining jobs in downtown.
- Adding public art and other physical improvements.
- Offering regular programming in downtown public spaces.
- Exploring infill development, redevelopment and adaptive reuse of existing spaces.
Seeing the opportunity to leverage activity in neighboring core districts, the plan suggests:
- Expanding accessibility of multiple modes of transportation including transit and/or a trolley or circulator, walking/rolling, biking and driving.
- Improving physical and economic connections to adjacent districts.
- Enhancing the parking experience.
- Building on outdoor recreation scene.
- Improving wayfinding signage and gateways leading into and out of downtown.
The plan outlines 70 initiatives overall to enhance downtown in the coming years. Short-term items could be accomplished within a year, such as creating multicultural programming and encouraging First Street East developments to embrace the river with outdoor patios, rooftop dining or other active ground-floor uses.
Midrange suggestions could be accomplished within two to three years, such as creating more family-friendly activities downtown and programming the Veterans Memorial Building with an arts center, retail incubator or other uses.
Long-term items that would take four to five years would include designing and funding an elevated bridge that takes the Cedar Valley Nature Trail from Downtown to Cedar Lake over the rail tracks at Fourth Street and C Avenue. Additionally, the city could construct a plaza and gateway in front of the Veterans Memorial Building and county officials could explore the feasibility of moving the jail off May's Island.
What’s next?
Upon plan adoption, the consultants recommend forming a Downtown Plan Implementation Committee to provide oversight and track implementation of the plan. This panel should be made up of representatives from city departments, the Economic Alliance, the SSMID commission, Linn County and other civic partners.
At the SSMID commission’s January meeting, Wilcox said she’ll discuss with the SSMID which initiatives to prioritize first in its action plan and update the board at each meeting on progress and any roadblocks. She said she would love to work with city officials on how best to communicate and track each party’s status with implementing the initiatives they lead.
More partners can be brought in after plan adoption to work together to “make a bigger splash” with existing efforts, Wilcox said. For example, she said local entities could leverage a current event such as the Freedom Festival’s Fourth of July celebration with fireworks at McGrath Ampitheatre to entice people to come downtown or use the trail network, or plan Second Avenue Bridge events while there’s already activity at the amphitheater.
“We all want the same thing,” Wilcox said. “When you have collective organizations that have the same goal working together, that to me is super exciting … This plan will incorporate even more partners.”
Cedar Rapids Downtown Vision and Action Plan, 2023 by The Gazette on Scribd
Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com
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