Cedar Rapids library's pursuit of CAT grant for west-side branch renovations falls short

UPDATE: The city's library board and the library's foundation came home empty-handed Wednesday after a trip to Des Moines seeking a $350,000 grant from the state's Community Attraction & Tourism (CAT) program to help with the renovation of a new leased location for the city's west-side branch library.

The CAT Review Committee of the Vision Iowa Board informed the Cedar Rapids group that it does not use CAT funds for renovations of leased spaces except in instances where the lease is something like a 99-year one, Katie Geiken, the foundation's executive director, reported on Wednesday afternoon.

The Cedar Rapids library board, Geiken said, is not contemplating such a lengthy lease for the new home of its west-side branch library, which is going into part of a former Target store across Williams Boulevard SW from Westdale Mall.

Geiken said the foundation now will look to raise more private funds for the renovation project, construction of which is estimated to cost about $1.2 million, she said.

In any event, the pursuit of CAT funding for the project was an uphill battle because the CAT program now has limited funds.

The city of Cedar Rapids learned that in November when it helped secure a $750,000 CAT grant for the non-profit NewBo City Market. That scaled-back CAT request had begun as an $8 million one for the city's Convention Complex, downtown library and the market.

The library's new request for CAT funding followed on the heels of the library board's decision in February to move the west-side branch, which long has been located inside Westdale Mall, into part of a former Target store nearby.

In public forums before the board's February vote, there was no outpouring of sentiment to keep the branch library in the mall as a way to help the long-struggling mall.

The library board's plan calls for renovation for the new library branch to begin in June with the new branch ready for use by December.

The library's current spot in Westdale Mall also has served as the library's central library, which was damaged in the June 2008 flood. The city's new downtown library, now under construction, will be ready for use in June 2013.