Commission asks where Mercy draws the line on new parking lots

How many parking lots are enough?

Members of the Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Commission are asking that question of Mercy Medical Center.

The hospital has taken out a demolition permit for a home at 817 Seventh St. SE and also hopes to demolish two neighboring homes, said facilities property manager, Calvin Hileman.

Hileman noted at Thursday night's commission meeting that Mercy needs more parking for employees who recently moved into the former Iowa Workforce Development building, 800 Seventh St. SE.

“Some people have to walk three to four blocks to get to work,” he said.

Commission Chairwoman Maura Pilcher mapped out the parking lots Mercy already owns and asked Hileman if the hospital has an idea of how much parking is needed.

“They're clear-cutting,” she said after the meeting. “They're wiping out blocks.”

Pilcher referred to a “gentleman's agreement” that Mercy not extend its reach south of Eighth Avenue SE.

Hileman, who started in his position in September, said he was unaware of the agreement and didn't know the exact extent of the parking need.

Pilcher and vice-chairman, Bradley Fritz, noted that property values decline in neighborhoods that abut parking lots with no buffers.

Demolishing homes for surface parking also erases the historic fabric of the neighborhood, they said.

This fall, Mercy demolished a nearby church at 824 Eighth St. SE for parking.

The hospital also recently built a new parking garage at the corner of 10th Street and Eighth Avenue SE.

Commission member Todd McNall asked if Mercy could offer incentives for employees to take public transportation or use car pools instead of building new parking lots.

The commission kept in place a 60-day waiting period on demolishing the Seventh Street home, in hopes that architectural features could be salvaged.

Hileman said Mercy is in favor of salvaging the homes and worked with Friends of Historic Preservation of Iowa City to salvage a neighboring house at 620 Ninth Ave. SE.

Pilcher also asked about medical district boundaries that were established in part to prevent encroachment on neighborhoods.

The proposed district extends to Ninth Avenue SE, but ends just across from the Seventh Street home that Mercy intends to demolish.

Medical district coordinator John Helbling said the boundaries are being established to prevent speculators from buying up homes and not investing in them, with the hopes that a hospital will buy the property.

The City Council still must vote on the district boundaries.

Mercy CEO Tim Charles sent a statement, saying Mercy continues to support its agreement with the city that medical expansion will not cross Ninth Avenue.

“Mercy has and continues to actively support area efforts to create affordable housing by working with developers,” he wrote. “In fact, some Mercy employees who were displaced by the flood have been able to find housing in the Oak Hill Jackson neighborhood as a result of this joint effort.This will continue to be an area of importance to Mercy as we support our employees, neighbors and the City.”