Junge property sale may lead to redevelopment on Collins Road location

Land at one of the busiest intersections in Linn County is on the market, potentially leading to redevelopment of eight acres of prime real estate.

According to Iowa Department of Transportation data, 38,000 vehicles travel on Collins Road each day while more than 20,000 vehicles use Council Street.

The Junge Automotive Group is moving its Lincoln, Mazda and Volvo dealership later this year from 1510 Collins Road NE to a building and land at 1200 Boyson Road in Hiawatha that now houses Cedar Rapids Toyota. The latter is moving to an adjacent remodeled and expanded building that formerly housed a Volkswagen dealership.

Junge Automotive's 25,500-square-foot building, constructed in 1971, and 2.73 acres of land are listed by GLD Commercial Real Estate of Cedar Rapids with an asking price of $3.2 million.

Craig Byers of GLD Commercial said the potential purchase of adjacent properties could create a much larger parcel of land for redevelopment as office or retail.

'There is an opportunity to acquire 10 acres - plus or minus - after the city reconfigures 51st Street NE,” Byers said. 'All of the properties between the former Hall Home Furnishings and Junge Automotive are listed and can be purchased.”

Byers said the Junge Automotive property is zoned C-3 (commercial) and had real estate taxes of $65,788 in 2014.

Steve White of Skogman Commercial Group confirmed that the 8,085-square-foot Select Auto Group building and property at 1501 51st St. NE is listed for sale with an asking price of $750,000.

'It's been listed for about seven or eight months, so I think the owners are eager to sell it,” White said.

Rockwell Collins had been leasing the 40,000-square-foot former Hall Home Furnishings building at 1618 Collins Rd. NE for office space. The building, constructed in 1969 on 2.5 acres of land, is listed for sale by Adam Gibbs of GLD Commercial with an asking price of $3.75 million.

In 2004, the city of Cedar Rapids bought the former Pei's Mandarin Restaurant at 5131 Council St. NE and nearby property for $1.8 million as part of a planned realignment of 51st Street NE. Park Place NE is to be extended west across Council Street and swing south into 51st Street NE.