150-room hotel proposed in Cedar Rapids’ New Bohemia District

CEDAR RAPIDS — Conlon Construction is proposing building a contemporary-style 150-room hotel and 10 rowhomes on the city-owned parking space known as Lot 44 in the New Bohemia District. The project would go a long way toward adding overnight beds in the city core.

The local company is interested in redeveloping the lot at 1001 Second St. SE into housing and a hotel likely under the Marriott flag, specifically its trendy Aloft brand. This city-owned property is around three acres and currently serves as parking that is often heavily used for larger events that draw major traffic to NewBo.

More hotel beds are needed to help Cedar Rapids attract larger events, city officials have said, so city council members who reviewed plans Wednesday said they were eager about the prospect of a tourism boost and being able to book larger events.

Bryan Kubik, a Conlon Construction vice president and lead developer on the project, said the goal was to offer walkability for guests to access restaurants and shops in the area.

“Seeing this NewBo District grow and develop, it was very easy to see the last missing piece in this district was a contemporary-type hotel,” Kubik said.

The development team thought an “upbeat and vibrant hotel” would fit the neighborhood, Kubik said.

“When we were trying to find the right hotel for NewBo, we were trying to find the right hotel that fits a cool vibe that was upbeat, contemporary,” Kubik said.

Jim Mann, vice president and chief financial officer of Hospitality Specialists, said efforts to identify a hotel location here slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this location offers plenty for guests to do besides sit in a hotel room. It’ll attract younger travelers, he said, who may be drawn to an arts and cultural hub like NewBo.

“The downtown area is way underserved,” Mann said. “The market in general might very well find that there’s a lot of guests coming from the other areas served by the other hotels” because the area offers so much to do.

Hotel in ‘vital’ neighborhood

The Cedar Rapids City Council is slated to open the request for proposals process with a June 25 public hearing, allowing the city to take proposals from interested developers for the site’s transformation.

Proposals are due July 26. Council will select the winning proposal Aug. 13, then staff will negotiate a development agreement later this year, Assistant Community Development Director Adam Lindenlaub said at council’s Wednesday Development Committee meeting.

If this proposal is selected, Kubik said construction would likely start next spring and the hotel would open in the summer of 2026. There was no cost estimate available.

The property is zoned Urban Neighborhood General, which allows mixed-use development up to six stories in height. The property is in the 100-year flood plain, so new development will follow flood plain ordinance requirements.

“Making sure this fits within the context of a beautiful old neighborhood like New Bohemia is important,” said council member Ann Poe, chair of the Development Committee.

Currently, Cedar Rapids only has the city-owned DoubleTree by Hilton hotel with 267 rooms on First Avenue NE in downtown in the city center.

An approximately 100-room hotel is slated to be built on the west side of the Cedar River at the mixed-use First and First West site, but construction has stalled while the development team sorts out a private easement issue. The city’s Czech Village/NewBo Area Action Plan calls for a boutique hotel in Czech Village.

“This will provide another one of those spaces in the heart of a very vital and upcoming neighborhood and within walking distance obviously of Czech Village,” Poe said. “ … I’m just looking forward to the day that … we reach that tipping point for being able to pull in some of those larger venues that we would really like to attract.”

Council member Ashley Vanorny said if this is the accepted proposal, the company is “really great at hotel spaces.” Conlon Construction has built a Hampton Inn in Dubuque, it is building an Aloft hotel in Waukee, and the company bought the Marion Methodist Church in 2022 to redevelop it into Belltower Lofts apartments.

“We know we need a significant more amount of conference space so that we can get some of that next-level entertainment and conferences here, attracting them,” Vanorny said. “We’re just excelling in our Cedar Rapids tourism …”

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In terms of other amenities, Poe said she would like to see the developer consider adding meeting space to address the lack of it in the Czech Village and NewBo neighborhoods. Vanorny encouraged the developer to explore activating the rooftop of the hotel with amenity space.

Kubik said the developers’ plans are conceptual at this point, but they will be looking at things “that will be a great amenity to the district.”

Mann said rooftop bars are popular and add to the hotel’s ambience. But this Marriott brand has a unique swoop on the roof that the developer would have to maintain with any potential rooftop amenities. He said there would be small meeting rooms, a food service area, pool and fitness area.

The brand also requires the hotel include local items that represent the market and “give the guests a little more of a feeling where they are.”

Kubik said the 10 rowhomes — which will be for-sale units — are on a shorter construction schedule of 10-12 months, but will likely be built simultaneously with the hotel.

“We felt there was a need for that in The District,” Kubik said. “Our goal was to mirror the neighborhood and what’s similar across the street,” referring to the other rowhomes on Second Street SE.

Need to address parking

With the proposed hotel being situated on the parking lot, Poe said the city needs to address the loss of significant parking space with Lot 44 going away “to eliminate angst” from area residents and businesses.

“We’ve got to be ready to address that pretty quickly,” Poe said.

Kubik said the conceptual plan shows about 175 spots for hotel guests who will need parking when they arrive and stay overnight, but the developers will “continue to work with the city of Cedar Rapids to try to find parking for events” so that parking is maintained for guests.

Community Development Director Jennifer Pratt said ParkCR manages this space and it’s primarily used for event parking. It will be important to seek temporary spaces and assess permanent options to manage traffic for those events, she said.

“It’s going to be a constant monitoring to make sure we stay ahead of that because we certainly don’t want to diminish any of the momentum we’re getting in that area,” Pratt said.

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