Council to vote on $1.75 million mall TIF

IOWA CITY - The Iowa City Council will vote Tuesday on a $1.75 million tax increment finance rebate that aims to revitalize the struggling Iowa City Marketplace.

The six-year TIF would cover a portion of the mall's $4.4 million renovation project to prepare the former Von Maur space for future tenants Lucky's Market and Planet Fitness.

Parking lot and pedestrian accessibility elements for Iowa City marketplace, formerly known as Sycamore Mall, are also included in the project.

Iowa City economic development administrator Jeff Davidson said the full TIF rebate is predicated on the mall increasing its taxable valuation from its current $10.2 million to $16 million.

'We feel that's a very appropriate thing for us to participate in because it's what leads then to the remainder of the mall being leased up, getting that anchor space filled,” Davidson said. 'Our financial participation is with the mall owner, we're not actually funding Lucky's Market ... it's in an effort to get the lights on in the entire space.”

Currently, the mall is 40 percent vacant, with vacancy expected to drop to 25 percent after Lucky's Market and Planet Fitness open.

Iowa City manager Tom Markus said, after the anchor tenant opens, the impact will be felt in not only the entire mall but the surrounding community.

'Investing in that area, specifically the mall, and with this type of anchor, we think it will stabilize the decline and actually start to reverse the direction and grow the tax base for not just the mall, but the adjacent properties as well,” he said.

Lucky's Market, a Boulder, Colo. natural food grocery store with plans to open a 34,000-square-foot store, is expected to bring 7,500 to 10,000 customers to the mall every week, with hours of operation from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

According to information in the Iowa City Council packet, work at the mall will include reconfiguring storefronts to face into the parking lot, landscaping improvements and upgraded pedestrian access in the parking lot.

Stressing sustainability, mall officials plan to recycle ceiling tiles, ductwork and other items during the renovation, create a recycling area within Iowa City Marketplace and installing LED lighting fixtures, according to the agenda packet.