Iowa City Council decides not to rename Broadway Street

UPDATE: The City Council Tuesday night decided not to rename Broadway Street.

Southgate Development Services, which owns a significant amount of property along the street, had asked the council to change Broadway Street's name in an attempt to improve the negative reputation of the southeast Iowa City neighborhood the street runs through.

City Council member Susan Mims said council members recognize there are issues in southeast Iowa City, including problems with crime, and did not want to send a message that a cosmetic change like renaming a street meant it felt those issues were resolved.

Mayor Matt Hayek said it was not an unreasonable request from Southgate, but the council believes the city can help in more substantive ways. For example, he and Mims noted the city put $900,000 in federal funds it oversees into a $5.75 million renovation of an apartment complex on Broadway Street that Southgate is undertaking.