U.S. Cellular Center stays top priority for Cedar Rapids

Upgrading the U.S. Cellular Center and adding a convention center to it stayed at the top of the City Council's priority list as it finalized an application for a piece of $118.5 million in state I-JOBS funds.

At a noon meeting Monday, the council said it will ask $15 million from I-JOBS for the upgrade even as it looks for $39 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce to add the convention center.

In order on its I-JOBS priority list, the council said it also will seek $5 million for a proposed $45 million library, $10 million for a new downtown parking ramp and $300,000 to demolish and remediate the former Quality Chef buildings on Third Street SE in the New Bohemia arts and entertainment district.

The total request for these four projects of $30.3 million is slightly above the $30 million limit on what Cedar Rapids can obtain in the statewide competition for I-JOBS funds. Any one applicant can get up to $50 million, but the city earlier received $20 million on a non-competitive basis for the library, the Paramount Theatre, the Public Works Building and the downtown steam network.

The city also will include in its application five other requests in this order: study and design for a Multigenerational Life Community Center, $4 million; improvements to a wastewater biogas system, $1.5 million; reconstruction of a flood-prone section of Sixth Street SW, $2.4 million; purchase of two flood-damaged downtown properties, $380,000; and downtown facade improvement, $750,000.

Council member Justin Shields, an advocate for the community center, thinks it should be moved up the priority list. Jerry McGrane agreed.

Linn County and five local non-profit groups also are submitting I-JOBS applications.

The council decided to submit a cover letter with its proposal for city projects to say it supported the county and non-profit requests as well.

Chuck Wieneke said, in essence, the city, county and non-profits were competing against one another and other communities in the state for limited I-JOBS funds.

Earlier Monday, the Linn County Board of Supervisors agreed to seek $8.8 million to upgrade the Administrative Office Building and $3.69 million to build a juvenile law center.

On a 3-1 vote, the supervisors agreed to also seek $7.6 million for a joint communications network to help build a fiber system that connects city, county and school buildings and facilities.

The communications network had been third on the city's priority list, but the county agreed to submit it as a way to get another local project in front of the I-JOBS board.

Supervisor Brent Oleson on Monday wasn't happy that the communications network was added to the county's list. He said he feared it would detract from the juvenile law center, his top priority.

“We're losing focus here,” Oleson said. “I think this juvenile court is such an important project, and I don't want anything to jeopardize it.”

The final I-JOBS applications were due by 11:59 p.m. Monday.

The Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Legion Arts/CSPS, Junior Achievement, Indian Creek Nature Center and the African American Museum of Iowa are the local non-profits also competing for funding.

The I-JOBS board will begin to review requests this month.