Private funding will be key to 5-year plan for revitalizing downtown, Cedar Rapids City Council says

CEDAR RAPIDS — To execute on the five-year revitalization of downtown Cedar Rapids as pitched in a new vision plan adopted Tuesday by the Cedar Rapids City Council, the elected officials said partnerships between the public and private sectors will be key.

For some council members, a mayor-appointed panel’s decision on how to structure downtown’s managing entity will be an important part of how the plan is implemented. Others, though, said the plan allows sufficient flexibility and discouraged council colleagues from delaying the plan’s implementation while the management structure is determined in 2024.

Ultimately, the nine-member council unanimously signed off on the plan Tuesday, after council member Ann Poe initially proposed tabling the Downtown Vision Plan’s adoption until local stakeholders decide on a downtown management structure.

The decision is in the hands of the Downtown Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District Commission (SSMID), a mayor-appointed panel that oversees the district where a tax is levied on property owners for beautification projects, programming and maintenance. The commission will form a task force to make a recommendation, which the whole SSMID will vote on.

“The devil is always in the details,” said Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell, who campaigned on promoting a vibrant downtown. “This is an innovative, creative, fairly involved plan … These future conversations about organizational structure are going to be critical to the success of this plan.”

The vision plan is a collaboration between the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, the Downtown SSMID, 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.

It was created by Denver-based consultant Progressive Urban Management Associates. Last updated in 2017, the plan provides a five-year guide to transform downtown, and identifies strategies and entities responsible for executing about 70 initiatives.

In a plan release event Tuesday, private sector partners expressed enthusiasm about the vision, but were eager for more information on how the plan will be funded and turned into reality.

“We can have all the visions and plans,” Lura McBride, Van Meter president and chief executive officer, said. “If we can’t fund it, we can’t activate it, we can’t do it.”

This plan will require the city to raise more private money than ever before, O’Donnell said, but the city will budget funds and will have specific initiatives for private sector to support.

‘Collaboration commitment’ on structure decision

The consultants state the SSMID contracting with a nonprofit for downtown management is the most common model nationally, but leave the choice up to local stakeholders. The SSMID takes in about $765,000 a year.

“A business plan for the preferred option and a collaboration commitment from the three key leaders — the city, Economic Alliance and the SSMID — would be the desired result for moving forward,” according to the plan.

PUMA President Brad Segal said managing the experience of downtown determines if the city center is clean and safe, if it has restaurants and stores to visit. With the SSMID having about 200 property owners, this management entity is a mechanism for curating that experience.

Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust President James Klein, who was part of the planning committee and is the Downtown SSMID commission chair, told the council, “We want to coordinate with the city and accelerate some of these items in the plan as we go forward.”

An implementation committee that’s representative of downtown stakeholders, likely with 12-18 people, will be formed to hold entities accountable for executing plan initiatives.

What are the structure options?

For the last 12 years, the Economic Alliance has housed all downtown management and marketing responsibilities. Nikki Wilcox is the alliance’s top downtown employee, with a program manager likely to start in early 2024.

According to the plan, this arrangement has offered financial stability for core programming and made downtown a priority. However, this structure has resulted in a less distinctive identity found in downtowns with stand-alone models.

If a more distinct downtown center were carved out in the alliance, according to the consultants, that could boost program visibility and reach and improve responsiveness, ongoing communications and accountability with more dedicated staff. The alliance’s 501c3 charitable status could be used to secure grants and sponsorships, and a “Friends of Downtown” group could more broadly engage people in downtown.

Still, oversight would be limited to the SSMID and alliance boards, and program funding could need to be reallocated to pay for staff.

A stand-alone nonprofit, like the previously existing Downtown District, would maximize accountability and focus to downtown stakeholders through a board, staff and structure. It could leverage SSMID funds while seeking its own grant money to support downtown activity.

But it diminishes financial stability and requires stronger financial participation from the city and other partners. It would need startup funds over at least a three-year period to get established.

“Just because it’s done differently (in most other cities) doesn’t mean Cedar Rapids needs to change,” Segal said. Three or four dedicated staff and a fuller downtown-focused volunteer network could help foster a program identity, build relationships, secure private funding and fuel energy to execute on the plan.

The consultants did not make a recommendation because “there wasn’t agreement of the different sponsors of the plan” for which option was best, Segal said.

‘Walk and chew gum’

Poe agreed with other council members that the plan offers some quick, achievable wins, but said the plan needs accountability.

“I'm not so sure that the current structure has the ability or the capacity to do it,” Poe said.

Segal said the goal is to improve involvement and accountability to the downtown community, as well as better leverage sponsorships, grants and philanthropic avenues to fund initiatives.

“There's sort of a desire here to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Segal said — to execute the plan while contemplating a structure.

Council member Dale Todd, who represents District 3 which encompasses downtown, said there’s been a gradual disconnect between council and downtown on implementation and the day-to-day operation of downtown.

“I’m in favor of approving the plan now and dealing with the minutiae of who’s going to operate it, ultimately drive it, because councils change, so do downtown businesses,” Todd said. “But you have to have that living document and you have to ... make a solid commitment with a timeline in terms of who’s going to drive it.”

Cedar Rapids Downtown Vision and Action Plan, 2023 by The Gazette on Scribd

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