Former Metro Alliance building sold, buyer plans second floor

The new owner of a downtown Cedar Rapids office building that formerly housed the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance is planning to add a second level to the structure.

Auxiant Properties completed its purchase of the 10,325-square-foot building at 424 First Ave. NE on Friday. The single-story building originally housed the Elks Club until it became the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce in early 1982.

Brian Beck, director of operations for Auxiant Inc., said the company has engaged a structural engineering firm to determine whether the building will support a second story.

"We had Terracon take some core samples last week, so we're not only looking at the footings, but we're also looking at the soil strength beneath the footings," Beck said. "We would use the existing space as a room for our rather large server and data warehouse needs.

"We will probably do a lot of remodeling, with the exception of the entryway. We would use the second floor as our primary office space."

Assuming the second floor construction is feasible, Beck said construction will likely begin in the fall with completion expected in the spring or summer of 2014.

Auxiant, a third-party administrator of self-funded employee benefit plans, leases space in the Law Building at 225 Second St. SE. Beck said the new location will expand its office space by about 50 percent.

"It gives us room to grow as well as build an efficient use of space," he said. "We're talking about an open floor plan."

The Elks Club had been located at 424 First Ave. NE since 1911. The original lodge burned around 1957 and the present building was constructed in 1961.

The Civic Development Association, which operated off-street parking in the downtown area, bought the building from the Elks Club for $306,000. The CDA leased the building to the Chamber as its headquarters.

The Metro Economic Alliance, which combined the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Priority One and the Downtown District into a single organization, moved in July 2012 to new offices in the former IMAX theater building at 501 First St. SE.