Science Station won't return to downtown Cedar Rapids buildings

The Cedar Rapids Science Center has asked City Hall to end the center's $1-a-year lease on the city's former fire station on First Street SE because the group is on the verge of selling its two buildings, including the former IMAX Dome Theatre, that flank the former firehouse.

Dan Thies, president of the Science Center's board of directors, on Wednesday said the pending sale of the group's two buildings comes now that the board has decided it will not return to the downtown in the three buildings along the Cedar River that had comprised the center's Science Station before the June 2008 flood.

In 2010, the Science Center had looked at what Thies called “pretty significant plans to take that complex to something bigger and better and more bold and program-driven,” but part of the plan had been premised on securing state I-JOBS funds for the proposal. The state program, though, restricted its second round of funding to cities and counties, a move that required the non-profit Science Center to rethink its plans for the downtown location, Thies said.

Thies, president/CEO of OPN Architects Inc., said he was not at liberty to disclose the person who has offered to buy the Science Center's two buildings, and he said the purchase offer was subject to what he said would be any buyer of downtown property's “due diligence” before making a property purchase.

In a letter to City Hall, Todd Bergen, president of the Science Station's board of directors, characterizes the developments by saying that the Science Center has “a signed purchase agreement in hand.”

Thies said he was not sure what the potential buyer of the Science Center's two buildings intended to do with them or if the buyer also was interested in buying the city's one-time fire station in between them.

As for the IMAX Dome Theatre building - the Science Station's IMAX opened in 2001 and closed for good in 2008 because of a lack of attendance - Thies said it could be redeveloped for some other use, which is something the Science Center spent some time studying. One option might be to take out the theater seats and put in a second floor, which would double the building's square footage without the need to expand, he said.

“I think you could do about anything you want with it,” Thies said.

He said sections of the exterior also could be removed, not unlike the work taking place at the city's former library just down the street from the IMAX. TrueNorth Companies Inc. is transforming the former library into a new office building.

Thies said the future looked bright for the buildings that previously had comprised the Science Station, as does the whole of First Street SE. He pointed to the TrueNorth project and noted that the city has now decided to renovate, remodel and reoccupy the Ground Transportation Center bus depot. The street also features restaurants and, at its end, the new federal courthouse, slated to open in 2012. In addition, 2001 Development Corp. now owns the former furniture mart building on the street and is working to redevelop it and the drawing board has featured a Great America II building to sit alongside the existing Great America Building.

“All of it, I think, long term is exciting to think about,” Thies said. “From my perspective, it's just going to be a great neighborhood and a great part of the downtown.”

With the end of the Science Center's 99-year lease on the city's former fire station property, the city will have two former central fire stations that it won't be using as fire stations.

The former station at 427 First St. SE opened in 1917 and gave way to a new central fire station at 222 Third St. NW in 1985. The northwest Cedar Rapids station was wrecked in the flood of 2008 and is slated for likely demolition. A new central fire station is planned between First and Second avenues SE and Seventh and Eighth streets SE.

Thies said the Science Center's Science Station continues to have “an amazing run” at Lindale Mall.

“We are pleased with that,” he said. “But part of the work before the board going forward is looking at long-range planning and vision relative to location and physical presence. Those things are in process and under consideration right now.”