Homes proposed for space near Ellis Golf Course in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS – What once was a practice chipping green area next to the Ellis Golf Course may turn into housing yet.

Local developer Joe Ahmann has submitted a conceptual proposal to the city to build single-family, detached homes and some row houses on the grassy, 6.41-acre site.

This spot was a battleground in late 2008 when a Minneapolis developer proposed building a multi-story, affordable housing complex on the property to replace housing lost in the June 2008 flood.

Neighbors in a newer development of owner-occupied residences and others rallied as People for Parks against the housing idea, and the developer gave up on the idea.

'We're not a bull in a china shop,” developer George Sherman said to a meeting of angry neighbors at the time.

Don Karr, who left the City Council in January and is now vice president of the Northwest Neighbors Neighborhood Association, on Thursday said Ahmann met with neighbors about his proposal for the Ellis chipping green, and Karr said neighbors generally liked the idea after some initial questions.

Karr said the city will be adding to park area along the of the park and golf course next to it and what will be a view of the river for some.

The City Council's Development Committee said it liked Ahmann's concept.

Committee Chairwoman Monica Vernon recalled the Sherman housing proposal of 2008 and remembered it as tall building for renters that didn't fit in with existing neighbors. The Ahmann proposal fits with housing nearby, she said.

She said she didn't think the former Ellis chipping green area was being used for much of anything.

Caleb Mason, a city housing official, said the city did not use the green area for any kind of organized recreational activity.

Mason said the city needed to research how much to charge a developer for park land, whether there are any covenants that prevent development on the land and whether it might be a good venue to keep for recreational activities.

Sven Leff, the city's parks and recreation director, said the coming greenway along the river may provide a new home could offer.

Chuck Swore, who also left the City Council in January, attended Thursday's council committee meeting, and he said he supported the sale of the Ellis property for a proposal like the Ahmann one.

As a council member, Swore was a champion of having the city look to see what surplus city property it might sell. No sooner had it suggested the idea and a commercial developer surfaced with a plan to buy part of the Twin Pines Golf Course. There was a public outcry, and the idea faded away.

On Thursday, Swore said he sent a letter to every council member early this year telling them not to forget two words: 'unused assets.”

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