Hiawatha seeing business and housing growth

HIAWATHA — When Fay Clark and 45 others founded Hiawatha in 1950, it was the 17th city to be incorporated in Linn County. The founders would likely be surprised to see how their little town has grown into a city of 7,100.

In 1971, the city's assessed property value was slightly more than $3 million. By 2018, that assessed value had grown to more than $674.25 million. That total jumped to more than $823.51 million in 2022, Hiawatha City Manager Dennis Marks said.

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The growth is largely driven by businesses locating or expanding in Hiawatha, he said.

"The last 14 years Hiawatha has added 1,141,032 square feet of new commercial and industrial space," Marks said.

Marks and Hiawatha Mayor Steve Dodson said more commercial and housing developments are in progress, with more on the horizon.

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“Hiawatha is well-positioned for further growth,” Dodson said. ”We have 688 acres of land ready to be developed.“

Former state Sen. Liz Mathis, now the coordinator of the Hiawatha Economic Development Corp., or HEDCO, echoes Dodson's comment.

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"Several businesses have growth in their short-term and long-term plans, and most of them are talking about adding jobs and square footage,“ Mathis said.

“We also have been contacted recently by a handful of national chains, and we're working to see if Hiawatha is the right fit. Additionally, we are seeing growth in some remodeling, leasing is turning around, housing is on the move.”

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Village setting

Hiawatha doesn't have a traditional downtown.

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"We prefer to have a village-type setting,“ Mayor Dodson said. ”We would like to have (another) grocery store, maybe a drugstore and a hotel. We don't really have a downtown. It's more of a midtown village (concept).“

That might happen sooner than later, with the former GoDaddy site poised for redevelopment and possible entertainment options. (See related story.)

Mathis believes that by the end of this year Hiawatha’s population will have grown by 2,000 to about 9,100.

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New housing

Like other Iowa cities, Hiawatha wants to offer more housing.

"The city needs more affordable, single-family housing," Dodson said.

But, he said, developers are telling him with today's high costs for lots, materials and labor, “it's hard to build houses in the $100,000 to $200,000 range and make any profit."

But new homes are being built in various parts of Hiawatha, along with three large apartment complexes, Dodson said.

A 196-unit “luxury” apartment complex, The Crossing on Boyson, is now leasing and should be completed this year, said Colleen O'Hare, property manager.

Located at Boyson and Robins roads, the $35 million complex has seven buildings with 28 apartments each, with an array of studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments available.

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Site amenities include a large central clubhouse, with a seating area, TV, free hi-speed Wi-Fi, and a business center. It will have a resort-style swimming pool, grilling patio, bike storage and repair shop, and a 24-hour fitness center.

Professional management and maintenance staff will be located on-site, and a fence will go up this summer around the complex, O’Hare said.

The complex is a co-development by Anthony Properties of Dallas, Texas, and Perry Reid Properties of Lincoln, Neb. (About four years ago, the companies also developed a 178-unit apartment complex, called The Enclave at Dry Creek, in northeast Cedar Rapids.)

Additionally, a $10.2 million, 48-unit apartment complex, next to the Hiawatha American Legion on Robins Road, opened a few months ago and is already full, according to the project's developer, Doug Sevey, one of the GoDaddy building’s new co-owners.

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And a 40-unit, 55-plus senior housing building is going up at 875 Edgewood Rd., next to the Fareway supermarket on Miller Road. The Arro Senior Apartments should be done in August, according to Megan Carr, spokeswoman for Access Development of Waite Park, Minn.

Carr said 36 of the apartments will be open to people age 55 and older whose income is at or below 60 percent of the area's median income, or around $40,000. The other four apartments will be at “market rate,” she said, adding the company is already creating a list of people interested in renting the units.

This is the first Arro complex in Hiawatha, though the company is offering the same affordable housing option at 46 or the 52 units at the new Vize complex on Kirkwood Boulevard SW in Cedar Rapids.

Other growth

Hiawatha has a second fire station nearing completion on Stamy Road between Tower Terrace and Center Point roads. The $7.2 million, 18,160-square-foot station is being built with local-option sales tax dollars.

A new city park was recently finished on 17 acres in the vicinity of the Tower Terrace interchange with Interstate 380 — an area where Mayor Dodson expects to see more homes and retail built.

Another infrastructure project city leaders are anticipating for its growth potential is the extension of Edgewood Road NE in Cedar Rapids north to Emmons Road in Hiawatha, starting in 2026.

In another just announced business addition, the McGrath vehicle dealership is seeking to build a 25,000-square-foot Hyundai sales and service structure at the corner of Boyson and North Center Point roads. If approved by the Hiawatha City Council, work will start this spring.

With all that is going on, will Hiawatha be looking to annex rural property to grow the city’s footprint?

"We really don't plan on expanding the city limits,“ Mayor Dodson said. ”We would rather infill“ within the current city limits.