Transportation projects, schools could transform north Johnson County

NORTH LIBERTY - Transportation changes might dramatically alter the look, use and flow of a part of Johnson County that's being urbanized - a buffer area between North Liberty, Coralville, Iowa City and Tiffin - into a new main drag for the area in the years to come.

The focal point is the east-west Forevergreen Road. The catalyst for change is a planned new Interstate 380 exit on the west side of Forevergreen, and new schools along where the long-discussed eastward extension eventually will occur.

'We will have greater circulation where you can get across town and access a freeway quickly,” said Alan Marks, president of Midwest Development and Investment Corp. of Fairfield. 'It will help development and help the quality of life in the communities. ...

It will be very positive for all of the municipalities in the area.”

Forevergreen serves as a quasi-boundary between North Liberty to the north and Coralville to the south. Moving west, Forevergreen still is gravel as it crosses the interstate heading for Tiffin.

Heading east, development has started near Highway 965 where the road's traffic peaks at about 6,000 vehicles per day, which is up 44 percent since 2010.

Eastbound Forevergreen ends at 12th Avenue in Coralville.

Scenarios dating back a decade show Forevergreen eventually extending about three miles through timber and farms. It would cross North Liberty Road where the new Christine Grant Elementary is slated for 2019, connecting with Dubuque Street just south of Liberty High School, which is set to open in fall 2017.

With new interstate traffic, retail and offices, and housing and schools, Forevergreen is projected to become a main artery, tying the area together and filling in rural gaps between Tiffin, Coralville, North Liberty and Iowa City.

The speed of development will hinge on interchange construction getting expedited, how quickly utilities - such as water and sewer - are extended to the area and how quickly developers act can extend Forevergreen, local planners said.

Shortly after the Iowa Department of Transportation penciled the interchange in for 2019 in its five-year construction calendar, the agency began efforts to fast-track the $14.2 million project as a safety precaution for the much larger replacement of the 80/380 interchange, a $270 million project scheduled for 2018-2023.

An Iowa DOT official expressed optimism the project meets eight federal justifications needed. Construction could begin in 2017, but the pace caught some off-guard.

'The timing was a bit of a surprise to all of us,” said Marks, a developer who owns 80 acres of rental farmland at the northeast corner of the proposed interchange. 'We didn't expect this happening. I think now everyone is taking a look at what needs to happen. ...

'With the traffic from 380, and the visibility, basically it's free advertising. It has the potential to develop quickly once infrastructure is in.”

About 130 cars a day use Forevergreen Road near I-380. As part of the project, Forevergreen will be paved and widened enough for four lanes.

The interchange should transform traffic patterns throughout the area, including at I-380's Penn Street exit and I-80's 965 exit. The Iowa DOT doesn't have short-term projections, but by 2040 traffic counts from west of 965 to I-380 would surge to 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles per day.

'It's not unexpected, given the swiftly growing area,” said Cathy Cutler, an Iowa DOT transportation planner. 'We will see congestion relief at both the Penn/380 and 80/Highway 965 interchange with a new Forevergreen interchange, so it's not all new traffic but current traffic using a different route to get to their destination.”

Some have begun building in anticipation of future growth.

Hills Bank constructed a multistory wealth-management center on the corner of Forevergreen and 965. On the southeast corner, Hy-Vee has begun construction of a 95,000-square-foot supermarket.

University of Iowa Health Care bought land at the southwest corner in anticipation of growth, but has not announced specific plans. A retirement community and new housing also are popping up.

Much of the land along Forevergreen remains agricultural, though. For some, that means opportunity. Two Iowa DOT planning meetings for proposed changes on the interstate system drew strong developer interest. Property values in the area have been rising.

In the past four years, the land value - not including buildings - of Forever Green Inc. garden and landscaping jumped from $200,000 to $407,000. The land value for the adjacent Forevergreen Business Park increased from $1 million to $1.8 million from 2012 to 2015.

Forever Green opened on Forevergreen Road in 1987 with a North Liberty address. It was a chipsealed, oil-sprayed road, and the only structures around were a handful of farm houses, owner Lucy Hershberger said.

The address now is Coralville. A new shopping strip sits next door. A neighborhood is being built across the street. North Central Junior High School opened a half-mile down the street, which keeps traffic flowing.

Despite higher taxes, Hershberger said growth in the area has been good for business. Plus, businesses get some of the landscaping work that comes with development.

Once the new transportation improvements come on line, 'I think it will be a lot of development in here pretty quickly,” Hershberger said.

The question is how quickly it all could happen.

North Liberty will be responsible for managing growth near I-380, while the extension of Forevergreen and the new elementary school will be in Coralville. North Liberty is spending $5.2 million to run utilities for development on the city's southeast side, including the new high school.

'My guess is we are still five years away from seeing anything start from North Liberty's perspective,” said Dean Wheatley, North Liberty city planner. 'Of course, all that can change in a day.”

Planners also are mindful that the interchange project isn't guaranteed. There's a history of roadwork seemingly just around the corner getting delayed for decades, such as the Highway 100 extension in Cedar Rapids and the widening of Highway 30 near Mount Vernon.

'There's still some chance the project won't be done,” Wheatley said. 'We don't have the final ‘we'll do it' from the DOT, Once we see things start to happen, then requests may come for extensions of utilities out there.”

Wheatley said the absence of city utilities, such as sewer and water, can be a roadblock for development, and the city doesn't have immediate plans to build utilities to the growth area near Forevergreen and I-380. Acquiring the right of way also can take a while, Wheatley said.

A housing development and Grant Elementary are planned for construction on Forevergreen between North Liberty Road and Dubuque Street, although no plans have been finalized.

Dan Holderness, Coralville city engineer, said private development will drive the extension of Forevergreen heading east.

'It's on everyone's wish list,” Holderness said. 'We would all like to have open by time the new high school is built, but in reality I don't think it is going to happen before the school is open.”