116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Geonetric building in Cedar Rapids’ NewBo district sells for $6.8M
South Amana civil contracting firm WRH Inc., buys building, will occupy entire second floor
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CEDAR RAPIDS — The Geonetric Building in Cedar Rapids’ NewBo District has been sold to WRH Inc., a South Amana-based civil contractor.
The building, constructed at 415 12th Ave. SE in 2014, provides office space for Geonetric, a digital health care marketing service; NewBoCo, a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurship and tech education; and The Vault, a coworking space.
Geonetric and NewBoCo will relocate within the building to make room for WRH, which paid $6.8 million for the property in an off-market sale that closed in mid-May, according to Cedar Rapids Assessor records.
Skogman Commercial, which brokered the sale and announced it in a news release, said leases for existing tenants will remain intact.
WRH Inc., will claim one floor for office space. The renovated offices will create headquarters for 35 executives, project-management, estimating and administrative professionals, according to the news release. WRH’s fabrication, maintenance and operations dispatch will remain in South Amana.
In 2013, Cedar Rapids developer Agile Ventures LLC received $1 million in tax credits to construct the three-story Geonetric Building.
The release underlines the purchase as a strategic investment in the Cedar Rapids commercial market, highlighting WRH’s continued involvement in Cedar Rapids’ permanent flood protection system through a $30 million Army Corps of Engineers contract.
Geonetric CEO Ben Dillon told The Gazette the company’s working relationship with WRH through the sale process, in combination with Geonetric’s future goals, has been positive and emblematic of continued investment in NewBo and Cedar Rapids.
“Geonetric in particular is taking a smaller footprint,” he said. “But the plan for right now is to continue to be here, and then, over time, we'll evaluate if this is still the right option for us and the right option for them. It's been a very good, collaborative working relationship. They're a great organization and some great folks to work with in this process.”
WRH Inc. CEO Jamie Rich did not respond to a request for comment.
Comments: 641-691-8669; evan.watson@thegazette.com
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