Cedar Rapids City Council approves annexation of land near airport

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids may soon grow by 82 acres.

The Cedar Rapids City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution to annex 82 acres of land near The Eastern Iowa Airport.

The property is located generally along Walford Road, east of 18th Street SW. It is within about two miles of Swisher and Shueyville. The council was told Tuesday that Swisher has approved the annexation to Cedar Rapids.

The annexation cannot be finalized until it receives approval from the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s City Development Board. That board meets Dec. 11, but an agenda for the meeting was not available Tuesday evening.

The land was purchased by the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission for $5.5 million in December 2023. It is “contiguous to the overall airport operation and has long been part of the airport's plan to purchase land for continued protection of the airport operation and future growth," Pam Hinman, the airport’s director of marketing & communications, wrote in a email to The Gazette.

Hinman said the commission requested the annexation “in order to place the land within the jurisdiction of the City of Cedar Rapids, consistent with all airport land.”