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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell highlights downtown, economic development in address
Downtown development, private investment and partnerships were key themes of her annual State of the City address.
May. 14, 2025 4:47 pm, Updated: May. 15, 2025 7:17 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — The city of Cedar Rapids is taking its next steps toward activating the Cedar River through a series of planned improvements in the downtown corridor.
Upcoming developments include the addition of public art on May’s Island, the construction of a new roundhouse in Czech Village and implementation of new and returning downtown programs in alignment with the city’s Downtown Vision Plan.
Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell highlighted those efforts during her annual State of the City address held Wednesday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Convention Center in Cedar Rapids.
“We’re putting our leadership to work to turn our greatest natural resource — the beautiful Cedar River — into an engine of connection, culture and economic growth,” O’Donnell said. “Every thriving city has a heartbeat, and ours is strong.”
Speaking to a crowd of nearly 800 people, O’Donnell heralded the improvements as a means to “activate new spaces” in downtown Cedar Rapids made possible through ongoing infrastructure investment and flood control efforts.
Those amenities will complement existing and future downtown programming, O’Donnell projected, such as the Downtown Farmers Market and Summer in the Square events to encourage people to visit and explore downtown Cedar Rapids.
In the Czech Village District, for example, construction is underway on the new Czech Village Roundhouse as part of the city’s larger LightLine Loop project named to coincide with the Alliant Energy LightLine pedestrian bridge under construction between Czech Village and NewBo.
The first May’s Island art sculpture will be installed this summer, too, as part of the city’s ongoing efforts to increase public art opportunities in the downtown area and transform the island into a robust civic center.
“We’re building a destination along our riverfront that includes a review of May’s Island right smack dab in the heart of the city,” she said. “This will be a public art project that tells the story not just of who we are, but where we’re going.”
Those plans aligned with O’Donnell’s larger message around recovery and progress.
In her address, she highlighted the strides the city has taken toward addressing the environmental and economic impact of the 2020 derecho, as well as future projects that will capitalize on that growth.
Since early 2024, the city has netted two large-scale data center projects, O’Donnell noted, in the payoff of months to years of behind-the-scenes conversations between city leaders, staff and private sector partners.
The first is a $750 million data center to be built in two phases on approximately 560 acres within the Big Cedar Industrial Center backed by QTS Cedar Rapids LLC. The other is a $576 million Google data center slated for the same area.
In addition, work is underway to prepare for the construction of the $275 million Cedar Crossing Casino & Entertainment Center in northwest Cedar Rapids near downtown. That facility is expected to open in late 2026, pending the outcome of an ongoing legal challenge.
“It’s time to bet on Cedar Rapids,” O’Donnell said in reflection of those investments. “Betting on Cedar Rapids isn’t about chance — it’s about conviction in what we’re doing and believing deeply in the strength of our team, the power of place and promise of the future.”
She also highlighted some on-the-ground accomplishments — such as the 50 residential street projects carried out in 2024 through the Paving for Progress program and the thousands of trees planted through the city’s ReLeaf derecho recovery program.
She offered a similar nod to the city’s ongoing partnerships with both public and private entities such as the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and the cities of Marion and Hiawatha — all of whom are partners on the collaborative growth initiative to increase resident recruitment and retention.
Her recognition extended to the Cedar Rapids Community School District, as well, and she encouraged address attendees to support the upcoming $117 million school bond proposal on the November ballot.
In recognizing those partnerships and others, O’Donnell said she hopes to underscore collaboration as a key ingredient to future success for Cedar Rapids and the region at large.
“Cedar Rapids is becoming a blueprint for what is next for American cities,” she told the audience in closing out her address. “The state of our city is strong — unshakably strong. So let’s keep going, keep building and get to it.”
Comments: grace.nieland@thegazette.com
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