City Council to discuss future of downtown Iowa City

IOWA CITY – With major changes already occurring and more on the horizon, the City Council will discuss the future of downtown Iowa City Monday night.

The council will consider several issues that will help the city develop a plan detailing a vision and goals for the area. In recent months city officials and some downtown business owners have made clear they'd like to see a downtown with more retail and office space and fewer bars and student housing.

Monday's discussion will include not only planning and zoning matters but also will take a philosophical look at the downtown's potential, City Manager Tom Markus said.

“It'd be nice to try to get our hands and heads around a bigger picture of where we're going,” he said.

Several recent developments have brought the topic to the forefront. Last year, the City Council passed and voters upheld a law banning people younger than 21 from bars at night. That has brought a fundamental change to a district that had increasingly become known for its nighttime bar scene.

In turn, city and business leaders have sought a better mix of uses downtown, with an eye toward more retail, high-end office space and owner-occupied housing. An example is developer Marc Moen's recent announcement that he wants to attract a national retailer to the former Vito's bar space and put offices on the second floor.

Also, an effort is underway to establish a special tax district downtown with the revenue going toward hiring a manager to market the area and recruit businesses, as well as beautification work.

The city also has been planning for a major public-private redevelopment of the area south of downtown called the Riverfront Crossings district to complement downtown.

“I think all of those put together almost inherently dictate change,” said Nick Arnold, executive director of the Downtown Association of Iowa City.

“It's definitely an exciting time to be down here,” he said.

On Monday, the council will talk about the proliferation of student housing downtown, threatened historic buildings, residential parking, the need for more high-quality office space, building heights, ensuring Burlington Street is not a barrier between downtown and Riverfront Crossings and bicycle traffic.

The discussion will help create a planning document for downtown. The city recently received a $50,000 state grant and will use the money to commission urban design consultants to create a physical plan for downtown and the area south of Burlington Street similar to what was recently done for a portion of Riverfront Crossings.

That plan would lay out the vision for downtown, which could lead to new programs and zoning changes. For example, downtown Iowa City has many narrow alleys, but Markus said  building lot line to lot line may be better. Another idea is conducting a market analysis to see how much the city should zone for certain kinds of uses, like first-floor retail.

Some people saw 21-only and other recent city actions as an attack on bars. But Arnold and Markus said current efforts are about having more diversity downtown, with entertainment an important part of that.

“In a balanced situation, you can survive different economic shifts better, and they all play off each other,” Markus said.

Officials note that Iowa City already has a vibrant downtown. Council member Terry Dickens, who is co-owner of Herteen & Stocker Jewelers on the Pedestrian Mall, said he has a friend who lives in downtown Philadelphia who raves about the restaurants and women's clothing stores in downtown Iowa City.

With the changes being discussed, he said, “I think it will become even a bigger destination for people from all over Eastern Iowa and around the state.”