Nordstrom wants to buy land at Eastern Iowa Airport; site of distribution center

CEDAR RAPIDS - Twenty years after it began leasing land for a distribution center, Nordstrom Inc. wants to purchase the property from The Eastern Iowa Airport.

The Seattle-based retailer has signed a letter of intent to acquire the land where its Nordstrom Direct Fulfillment Center is located at 7700 18th St. SW.

The Cedar Rapids Airport Commission on Monday approved Nordstrom's letter of intent to pay $1,214,000 for the 46 acres north of The Eastern Iowa Airport.

Don Swanson, airport director of finance and administration, said Nordstrom wants to exercise an option to buy the land.

'The option to purchase the land at year 20 was added during the negotiation of the lease,” Swanson said. 'We had anticipated that Nordstrom would exercise their option.”

Although the land was acquired with airport funds, Swanson said the sale must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

'Since the FAA participated in land purchases and grants for other parcels of land at the airport, we have to follow the regulations as far as selling any parcels of land,” he said. 'I don't anticipate any opposition because the agreed-upon purchase price is fair market value.”

Swanson said FAA regulations require that the proceeds from the sale of land will be used for projects normally funded with federal grants.

'We will be in discussions with the FAA as to how the money will ultimately be spent,” he said.

Earlier this month, Nordstrom announced that it wants to hire approximately 900 people for part-time and full-time seasonal positions at its 590,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Cedar Rapids.

'A lot of Nordstrom employees began their careers in a temporary or seasonal role,” said Jamie Nordstrom, Nordstrom president of stores, in a news release. 'It's one of the best ways to get your foot in the door, gain some great experience and we hope, begin a career with our company.”