DeBooms offer plan to save White Elephant building

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Commission on Thursday declined to approve a city staff recommendation to let demolition proceed on the White Elephant Building, given an eleventh-hour bid to move it to another location.

Instead, the commission gave the owners of the vacant, 135-year-old building at 1010 Third St. SE, Laurie Konecny and Jamie Stroschine, two weeks to strike a deal with Tom and Beth DeBoom, historic preservation activists, to save the former home of an iconic thrift shop.

'It's a very important decision, and we want to make sure (we're) making the best decision possible,” said commission chairwoman Amanda McKnight-Grafton.

The sides would have two weeks to come to an agreement before the commission meets again to reconsider the matter.

A 60-day hold had been placed on the demolition permit. The hold expires May 10.

City staff recommended releasing the demolition hold so the owners could work with local businessman Jon Jelinek, who owns Parlor City and is restoring the Ideal Theater in the area, to remove the facade for display on the inside of the theater.

Konecny and Stroschine bought the building in 2013 with the intention of remodeling it, but that proved too costly and their plans to move the building fizzled. They decided to move forward with demolition and rebuild with a deli and office space and but must wait for the demolition hold.

They said they were open to saving the building if the move could happen within the 60-day window. Otherwise, they preferred to move forward. They were skeptical the DeBooms' plan would come together as quickly as projected.

Early this week, the DeBooms offered a plan to save the building.

During a presentation to the commission, architect Jason Cave with Primus, of Cedar Rapids, laid out an aggressive timeline on behalf of the DeBooms to develop site plans, acquire permits, modify a development agreement and move the building to 1305 Third St. SE, all by May 9.

If the timeline is delayed, the DeBooms, as a backup, said they have property on Second Street SE where the building could sit until the Third Street site is ready.

City staff estimated it would take at least 60 to 90 days to move the building, which would exceed the demolition hold.

The building, one of the last original storefronts in the NewBo area, is deemed 'historically significant” and a contributor to a historic designation for the area.

It sits vacant in the heart of the New Bohemia district along a row of new or remodeled brick buildings, with restaurants, coffee shops and the new T-shirt shop, Raygun.