High-rise project could reshape downtown Iowa City

The developers behind two proposed high-rise buildings in Iowa City plan to combine their projects into one building that could change the face of downtown.

It's also the building in which the University of Iowa wants to relocate its School of Music, officials recently announced, which gave the project a huge boost after its previous incarnations were stalled by the economic recession.

The building, which would also include commercial, office and residential space, would be located south of Burlington Street between Clinton and Dubuque streets.

Burlington Street is the traditional boundary for downtown Iowa City, but city leaders want to extend that across the street and also redevelop the area to the south into a dense, walkable neighborhood.

The developers and city officials say the proposed high-rise project could jumpstart those efforts.

“It's a very big building,” said Swen Larson of 301 Holdings, one of the development groups. “I feel that this will change the course of downtown development. I think it will be the new hub of downtown.”

The mixed-use building could be up to 12 stories tall and 400,000 square feet, although the latter number is very preliminary and dependent on finances, said Kevin Digmann of Hieronymus Square Associates, the other developer in the project.

By comparison, the above ground portion of Old Capitol Town Center is about 340,000 square feet and the 14-story Plaza Towers is 187,126 square feet above ground, according to the Iowa City Assessor's Office.

Federal Aviation Administration rules restrict the height of buildings in downtown Iowa City, and most are a few stories or less.

Hieronymus Square first proposed a 13-story mixed-use building on the southeast corner of Burlington and Clinton streets four years ago. 301 Holdings later followed with a planned 13-story building of its own on adjacent land.

The economy put those projects on hold, but the UI's plans have given them new life. The potential involvement of the UI made the developers think it would be best to combine their projects, Larson and Digmann said.

The UI wants to buy four-and-a-half floors of the high-rise to house the School of Music, offices and classrooms, which would replace flood-damaged Voxman Music Building.

It also wants to build auditorium facilities across Clinton Street, where two banks are now, to replace Clapp Recital Hall.

The UI is negotiating with the landowners at the two sites and is “cautiously optimistic” about the process, Doug True, UI senior vice president for finance, said through spokesman Tom Moore. The UI hopes to have something to take to the state Board of Regents in the near future, Moore said.

Digmann said if everything is approved, an architect would need to be hired, and that work would take a year. The earliest construction could start is a year and a half from now, he said, and that's if everything falls into place.

“It's by all means not a done deal yet,” he said.

Larson said a cost estimate for the project is not yet available.

The new high-rise should spur other development nearby, said Jeff Davidson, Iowa City's planning and community development director. That would help the city with its goal of extending downtown and redeveloping the area south of Burlington Street, he said.

“You get people who want to locate near that, and that's why we're so excited about the … project,” he said.

The city owns a small portion of land on the proposed high-rise site and is involved in the negotiations.

The city is calling the new neighborhood it has planned the Riverfront Crossings District. The intent is to have a mix of housing, recreational and employment opportunities.

The city held meetings with urban design experts and federal officials last fall, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the city a grant to hire a consultant to further study the idea.

Such a major redevelopment would be done in bits and pieces over years by private and public interests, Davidson said.

The proposed high-rise is not the only big project under consideration. Developer Marc Moen has expressed interest in constructing a mixed-use building up to 14 stories tall on the northeast corner of Burlington and Clinton streets. He would like it to also incorporate the UI's new Museum of Art.

He said Wednesday that he's waiting to see what the UI does with its facilities, but he thinks the south entry to downtown could become another hub of activity focusing on the arts and residential units to go along with the east entry, which has the public library, two hotels and businesses.

“These public/private partnerships with the University would be a terrific catalyst for further downtown development including a diverse mix of housing,” he wrote in an e-mail message.