Some developers see improvements for I.C. business development

There's a fresh approach to development in Iowa City that is expected to bear fruit as the community competes for new commercial, industrial and residential construction projects.

"I think there is a new climate in city government that says 'How do we make this happen' rather than 'How do we put roadblocks in the way," said Kevin Monson, president of Neumann-Monson Architects in Iowa City. "I generally sense there's a very positive movement toward working out issues that work well for the developing community and the future of the city."

Monson said Iowa City and other communities in the Corridor realize that competition is keen for new development projects.

"One of the few ways that cities can grow their tax base is by encouraging commercial entities to develop in their community in a smart and attactive way," Monson said. "They can't be taking a negative attitude.

"I think that has changed with our new city administrator in Iowa City. Tom Markus is much more willing to look to the future and create a new vision of 'We can do things in Iowa City.'"

Timothy Terry,  founder of World Trend Financial &Terry Lockridge & Dunn in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, worked with Iowa City officials on two projects -- the conversion of a former Moose Lodge into Willowwind School of Iowa City and the construction of a new 17,000-square-foot office building for his accounting and financial services firm at 2225 Mormon Trek Blvd.

"They were really good to work with," Terry said. "They knew exactly what they needed and they were very good articulating what they wanted.

"I had heard all sorts of stories about challenges and so forth, but I have to say my experience was very favorable. We had a lot of things with the Willowwind project that could have gone the opposite way, but I think they realized early on that this was a beneficial thing for the area."

Skogman Homes of Cedar Rapids has residential developments throughout the Corridor. Frank Bellon, director of development, said every community has its idiosyncrasies.

"I think most communities want to work with developers and Cedar Rapids has shown a lot of improvement in recent years," Bellon said. "If I had to pick a community that's the easiest to work with, I would have to say it's Marion. They've got a good attitude working with developers."

Bellon said developers are dealing with a number of changes brought about by an emphasis on sustainable development, an outgrowth of the "green" movement.

"We're seeing a lot of changes to ordinances and whatever that make it more difficult for development," he said. "In some cases, the changes are coming from people who are not familiar with the development process.

"Federal regulations regarding erosion control have really taken hold. This is really a period of change the like of which I have never seen before. All development is in a state of flux with regard to the regulations and every community is different."

Beaton Inc. of Cedar Rapids is a 27-year Burger King restaurant franchisee with locations in Cedar Rapids, Marion, Coralville, Iowa City, Clinton, Muscatine, the Quad Cities and Kansas City. Perry Beaton, owner and president, said Iowa City and Coralville have been somewhat "picky" with regard to lighting issues, but he also notes that the cities have their reasons.

"I've seen some things being proposed that probably weren't the right thing to do anyway," said Beaton, who served on a planning and zoning commission in Minnesota before he moved to Cedar Rapids in the early 1980s.

Lee Staak, president and co-owner of Hardee's franchisee Iowa Management Systems in Coralville, rebuilt his store on the Coralville strip after the June 2008 flood and has considered potential sites for a Hardee's in Iowa City.

"I have some friends in retail who say that Iowa City can be a little more cumbersome," Staak said.

Staak, who also has stores in Grinnell and Marshalltown, was complimentary of Coralville officials.

"We had to go through some hoops there, but I have to be honest and say the city was very helpful during that post-flood period," Staak said. "I think they wanted to get as many businesses up and operating as quickly as they could. They didn't take any shortcuts, but I think they compressed some time frames on plan review.

"We had to go to the Coralville Board of Adjustment for approval because our parking alignment for the new restaurant was going to be a little different than the old one. The city helped us expedite the scheduling of the meeting and all of the city inspections happened right when they were supposed to occur."

Staak said his experience in Marshalltown was quite different.

"We did a remodel in Marshalltown in 2009. I wanted to make some exterior changes to our building to light it up and make it much more attractive," he said. "I went round and round with the city for about six months to get someone to approve what we wanted to do and we never got it accomplished.

"We bagged that part of the remodel, so my most recent experience in Marshalltown was not a very good one."