Cedar Rapids seeks development proposals for vacant land in Time Check

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city of Cedar Rapids is looking to spark additional development in the Time Check neighborhood through the sale of multiple city-owned properties.

City Council members recently voted to seek proposals for 15 parcels near Time Check Park. The properties are not contiguous, but they generally are located along Ellis Boulevard NW between I and K avenues NW.

Potential buyers have until June 20 to submit bids, said City Planner Jeff Wozencraft, and the council will review the proposals at its July 8 meeting.

“If necessary, we (would work on) the negotiation of any development agreements this summer,” said Wozencraft, who said developers could submit a proposal for all 15 parcels or for a select few.

The 15 parcels are all vacant lots that total roughly 2.12 acres of land acquired by the city after the 2008 flood. There are a mix of zoning types that could allow for small-scale mixed use development, small-scale multiunit residential and/or single family unit development.

Wozencraft said the city is seeking proposals that will align with the Northwest Neighborhood Area Action Plan, which was adopted in 2017 to guide future development and land use in the area.

Preference will be given to financially feasible proposals that focus on residential and/or commercial development. Before the council review, all proposals will be evaluated by a stakeholder group that includes city staff, a neighborhood representative and a non-competing developer.

Council member Ann Poe noted her hope that the request for proposals could spur additional development in the Time Check neighborhood — echoing a belief espoused by several other council members.

The area significantly was impacted by the 2008 flood, Poe noted, and subsequent redevelopment has been slower to pick up when compared with other areas along or near the river such as New Bohemia or Kingston Village.

She also said that the city’s ongoing investments into flood control projects should bolster developers’ confidence to invest in projects in Time Check and other river-adjacent neighborhoods like it.

“We need development down there if we want to see it continue to grow,” Poe said of the Time Check neighborhood. “That’s an area that desperately needs more housing, and some of the (commercial) basics that come with adding more housing.”

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