Coe purchase of First Avenue apartments may send redevelopment signal

Record enrollment means Coe College needs more student housing options right away.  And the private liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids is filling that need by purchasing property across First Avenue for the first time ever.

Coe recently purchased two apartment buildings on the southeast side of First Avenue, across the street from the main campus.  The Hampton Court Apartments at 1261 and 1263 First Avenue S.E. now have 39 apartments total.  The college plans call for refurbishing the inside of the two buildings and providing housing for up to 80 Coe students by next fall.  The apartment, or transition, on-campus housing would be offered mainly to juniors and seniors.

Rod Pritchard, a spokesperson for the college, said the announcement does not signal a wholesale expansion on that side of First Avenue.  And the school doesn't have any other immediate expansion plans on the southeast side of First Avenue.  But Pritchard said the college simply needed housing now and the purchase of the ready-to-remodel buildings was a solution officials couldn't pass up.

Still, Pritchard said the impact of the nearby medical mall project, and potential to spur further development, was a significant factor in the decision.

“The fact that these apartments are close to the new medical district is one of the factors that made it more attractive to cross First Avenue than it has in the past,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard said the college plans to take possession of the apartment buildings by the end of January.  School officials said current tenants were given assistance in finding other affordable housing.

In recent years, Coe officials have expanded the campus area mainly to the east across College Drive or Center Point Road NE.  But supporters of what's now called the “Uptown District” see the college building purchase as a big step in creating more of a “campus-town” atmosphere on both sides of First Avenue.

Richard Marsceau, owner of the Brewed Awakenings coffee shop, is also a board member of the Uptown District group.  Marsceau said he already gets a lot of business from Coe staff and students who cross First Avenue to his business. But he sees Coe's purchase of the apartment buildings next to his business as a symbolic step.

“It's encouraging to see Coe take that step, and it really does help the whole area,” Marsceau said.

Students also said putting some housing on the southeast side of First Avenue makes sense to them as well.  For one, it's closer to some campus buildings than other housing options.

Ella Wiese Moore, a Coe senior, lives in a campus apartment now and said she wouldn't hesitate to move in to the southeast First Avenue apartments if she were coming back next year.  “I would, yes,” Moore said, adding “mainly because it's close to the coffee shop.”

Another senior, Chelsea White, agreed with Uptown District supporters that the purchase on the opposite side of the campus is sending a signal.

“I think if the college is moving over, then it will lead to more businesses wanting to be near college students-so it'll build up (the area),” White said.

Coe officials said the school still has property east of campus that will likely remain the focus of most future expansion.  But now that the college has crossed First Avenue, they wouldn't rule out doing it again in the future.

Coe has a total of 1,312 full time students this year, which is the largest enrollment in the school's history.  A record number of 1,107 requested campus housing this year.  The apartment buildings will give Coe a total of 1,180 spaces by next fall.