Hopes high to save historic downtown C.R. grocery warehouse

The 95-year-old brick grocery warehouse by the old downtown library in Cedar Rapids could  yet become one of the few historic preservation success stories in post-flood Cedar Rapids.

The downtown redevelopment group 2001 Development bought the former Great Furniture Mart building at 600 First St. SE for $700,000 a few months after it was damaged by the record flooding of June 2008 on the Cedar River.

It was easy to see the potential in the building even after it had a basement full of water, 2001 Development Executive Director Jim Hoffman said. The building's first floor received little water because it is about six feet above ground level, so the building's massive oak pillars and most of its wood floors were largely unharmed.

“We think it has a future and have every belief it will be redeveloped,” Hoffman said.

The future lies in office space. Even though downtown Cedar Rapids has plenty of office space, the Great Furniture Mart building is close to the new federal building slated to open in 2012, making it especially appealing to law firms. It also has high ceilings and historic character that are not so easy to find in today's market.

Hoffman said he's given countless tours of the building to prospective buyers. The problem isn't a lack of buyers, but of financing for buyers and redevelopment.

“In today's commercial real estate market, you almost have to have the leases signed in order to get financing,” Hoffman said.

Since it was founded a quarter-century ago, the 2001 Development has been working to promote development in the downtown area. Hoffman says the group doesn't expect to profit from its deals.

Since acquiring the building, the group has secured it and prequalified it for state historic preservation tax credits. Hoffman said the group is also working on federal historic preservation tax credits that would help a buyer financially in redevelopment of the building.

The 45,000-square-foot building was known as the John Blauls & Son Wholesale Grocers in its early life, according to Cedar Rapids historian Mark Hunter. It was one of many sturdy buildings that comprised  a wholesale district along First Street SE between 1899 and 1930.

In later years, the building was used by Midwest Foods, another wholesale grocery company, according to Hunter. The building was extensively renovated in 1995 to house the Great Furniture Mart, which closed before the flood.