Live/work project proposed for northwest Cedar Rapids neighborhood

CEDAR RAPIDS — A project proposed for northwest Cedar Rapids that combines living quarters and work space for entrepreneurs and small businesses — a concept new to a community of this size — is drawing opposition from some of the neighbors.

Developer Keith Billick and his company, Side by Side LLC, are asking the city to rezone land at 2937 Johnson Ave. NW and across the street at 3010 Johnson Ave. NW for Lincoln Highway Lofts, a $7 million to $8 million development that would include a mix of live/work units, condominiums, town houses and single-family houses.

The Cedar Rapids Planning Commission on Dec. 8 voted to recommend approval of Billick's rezoning requests for the project. The Cedar Rapids City Council must approve the zoning changes from R-2 single-family residence to PUD-2 planned unit development for Billick to proceed with the project.

Live/work units typically are found in larger cities such as Denver or Phoenix. They are a modern version of an old idea, when a storekeeper lived above his or her shop or a doctor had an office and examining room in a separate area of the home.

Billick, a lead landscape architect at Shive-Hattery in Cedar Rapids, plans to sell each of the live/work units to a single buyer. He is aiming for local entrepreneurs who want a storefront space to sell their wares, such as an artist, furniture maker, cake baker or dressmaker.

'In some cases, the units will be two stories and others will be three stories,' he said. 'The three-story units will include a basement garage, a middle floor at street level for a storefront and a top floor that would be the residential piece.'

Billick said a development agreement negotiated with the city will be very specific in terms of what types of businesses will be permitted, their hours of operation, a landscape buffer with adjoining properties, stormwater management and other details.

'The agreement will protect the city, the neighborhood and me,' he said. 'The city has a vested interest because it has come to terms with me about what will be allowed. It goes both ways with the city sort of double-checking me and I'm double-checking them.'

The property at 3010 Johnson Ave. NW and an adjacent vacant lot now have an older farmhouse and a stand of evergreen trees that separates the parcels from single-family homes built in the 1960s on 31st Street NW.

The lot at 2937 Johnson Ave. NW is adjacent to Hillside Mobile Home Park and a commercial building that houses a hair salon. The 2.6-acre property is L-shaped, with trees at the rear of the lot where five-single family homes would surround a cul-de-sac.

The lots on Johnson Avenue NW, in an older area of the community, were chosen for their proximity to downtown Cedar Rapids and potential nearby residential and business customers, Billick said. They also would be within a short walking distance to retailers and restaurants on Edgewood Road NW.

'The lots are large enough to accommodate a combination of housing types,' Billick said. 'There will be a total of 20 live/work units along with 23 condos, townhomes and single-family homes.

'Combined with the older homes and businesses in that neighborhood, it will create a critical mass able to support that small amount of retail.'

Neighbors such as Katie Hiatt-Braasch, a homeowner who has lived in the area for 24 years, are concerned about being closer to adjacent properties, stormwater runoff and additional traffic.

'The developer has asked for setbacks to be only four feet from the property line,' Hiatt-Braasch said. 'Right now, that area has a lot of green space with a number of large trees to absorb the rainwater.

'All the traffic from this new development would go in and out of 31st Street. The plans also show parallel parking along Johnson Avenue and 31st Street. The mobile home park across the street generates a lot of traffic. We're wondering if this will add 50 or 100 cars per day to the traffic on Johnson Avenue NW.'

Billick said rainwater along the property at 3010 Johnson Ave. NW drains down 30th Street NW. He plans to improve the drainage with a series of innovative stormwater management processes, including a biocell detention area in a parking lot at the rear of the live-work units.

'The buildings are designed to push stormwater out to Johnson Avenue, which will significantly reduce the amount of water draining onto 31st Street NW,' Billiack said. 'It will no longer go to the north and northeast of the property as it does today.'

John Huiskamp, who lives on Jacob Court SW south of the property at 2937 Johnson Ave. NW, is concerned about the planned unit development zoning that Billick has requested, calling it a 'blank slate.'

'There are no set rules and everything is negotiated — the setbacks, the size of the units and the number of stories they can have,' Huiskamp said. 'I trust that the city heard our concerns and will negotiate some of those reasonable things into the agreement.'

Members of the Cedar Rapids Planning Commission questioned Billick about the project before voting its unanimous approval.

'This is an innovative concept for Cedar Rapids,' said Richard Pankey, commission vice chairman. He said he understands concerns about water runoff and roadway conditions, but he added the project could help resolve some problems.

'I do believe a project like this will offer improvements to the neighborhood,' Pankey said. 'It will help the water situation.'

The plans for Lincoln Highway Lofts tentatively are scheduled to go through Cedar Rapids City Council process at the two February meetings. If the zoning changes are approved, Billick is anticipating starting construction in the spring with a 20- to 30-month build out.

Reporter B.A. Morelli contributed to this story.

l Comments: (319) 398-8366; george.ford@thegazette.com