Summer opening for Lucky's Market in Iowa City

IOWA CITY — The city's future natural food grocery store will open its doors this summer, ending Iowa City Marketplace's roughly two-year stint without an anchor tenant.

Boulder, Colo.-based Lucky's Market announced Wednesday plans to open its first Iowa location this summer at 1668 Sycamore St., in Iowa City Marketplace, formerly known as Sycamore Mall.

John Arlotti, vice president of California-based CORE Realty, which owns Iowa City Marketplace, said Lucky's Market should provide a stronger clientele and more traffic than former anchor tenant Von Maur.

'It won't even be a close second — Lucky's will do in a week what Von Maur was doing in a month,' Arlotti said.

Plans to put a Lucky's Market in the marketplace first broke last summer. Wednesday's news release states that the 37,000-square-foot space will employ about 150 people and sell a wide range of produce, baked goods, meats, a juice bar, and wine and beer selection.

Late last year the Iowa City Council approved a seven-year, $1.75 million tax increment finance rebate to the shopping center to help revitalize the area.

That TIF is predicated on the shopping center ultimately bringing its taxable valuation up from its current $10.2 million to $16 million.

Jeff Davidson, city economic development administrator, said the amount of TIF revenue will be tied to the mall's vacancy.

'They have to get everything leased up to get the taxable value up to generate the TIF revenue,' he said. 'We predicted our TIF numbers on it being fully leased up in the future.'

Arlotti didn't have an estimate on Iowa City Marketplace's vacancy, but said he has had several interested tenants. However, most are waiting to see how Lucky's Market impacts the mall.

Mall officials estimated the addition of Lucky's Market and Planet Fitness, which opened earlier this year, would bring vacancy at the shopping center from 40 percent to about 25 percent.

Marketplace officials have been looking for a new tenant since Von Maur officials announced the store would move from its long-time home in Iowa City to Coralville's growing Iowa River Landing, following the city's $9.5 million offer to relocate in 2011. Von Maur's Iowa City store closed in 2013.

Arlotti said the changes taking place, including exterior work, internal design upgrades, new tenants and relocating existing tenants within the mall, are all making Iowa City Marketplace stronger than ever.

'The downside is (Von Maur) left and that put us in a heck of a mess, the upside is it's going to come back a lot better than before,' Arlotti said. 'It just takes time.'