Higley Mansion redevelopment receives Cedar Rapids City Council approval

CEDAR RAPIDS — Higley Mansion, a former senior-living facility in southeast Cedar Rapids, will reopen next year to offer residential rehab for people who voluntarily choose to enter treatment for substance use issues.

On Tuesday, the Cedar Rapids City Council voted unanimously to provide financial incentives to 860 17th St LLC for the redevelopment of the former Higley Mansion, which is located at 860 17th St. SE. The former senior living facility has been vacant since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The council voted in April to rezone the property to allow for it to be used for residential inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment.

Scott Mather, the city’s economic development project coordinator, told the council the $4.6 million project will renovate the 27,000-square-foot facility and add a 3,000-square-foot addition.

Other property improvement plans call for “significant landscaping improvements,” including removing and replacing dead trees, Mather said.

The property is expected to generate $525,000 in property taxes over 10 years, of which $145,000 will be rebated under the resolution adopted Tuesday.

Once the renovation is complete, the building’s tenant, Higley Partners LLC, doing business as Radix Recovery, will operate a voluntary substance abuse treatment facility that can serve 68-88 residents. It will employ 40-50 people.

Higley Mansion is located in council member Dale Todd's district. He said the rehab center could have become controversial with neighbors who may have taken a "not in my backyard“ approach. He credited the developers’ communication with the neighborhood for developing ”an understanding and a willingness to work together.”

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Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said the fact that the facility is voluntary “really resonated with the neighbors,” and it helped convince her to support it.

Todd said the project is the best option for the property.

“It takes a property that was historically for a long time a blighted property, right in the heart of the neighborhood,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting. “And based on the historical nature of the project, back when it was initially done, in order to renovate this project, I think it would be cost prohibitive for anybody to really do it in a way that added value to the neighborhood and to the properties adjacent.”

A development agreement will go back to the council in December or January. Mather said construction is scheduled to begin in January, and renovation work will be complete by August 2025.