Updated: Early morning fire destroys new mixed-use housing complex

CEDAR RAPIDS - Flames lit up the early morning sky and destroyed a 22-unit mixed-housing complex still under construction early Saturday.

The fire was reported just after midnight at the intersection of 12th Avenue and 6th Street SE in the city's New Bohemia neighborhood. The three-story development, which was to be called “The Villages” was scheduled for completion this winter.

Cedar Rapids Fire Department officials said firefighters responding to the blaze could see flames from the station house nearly two miles away.

Ben Kaplan, who lives at the Oakhill Jackson Brickstones across the street from where the blaze broke out, said the fire was intense.

“The windows blew out, it was catching the light posts on fire. My windows are blown out in my apartment,” Kaplan said.

Skip Smith also lives across the street at a single-family home. The flames melted some of the siding on his home.

“It was very hot. You had to go back in the house. We came outside the front door and immediately had to go right back inside,” Smith said.

Firefighters could do little more than keep the flames from spreading by spraying water from aerial ladders. About 40 residents at the Oakhill Jackson Brickstones left for a time, returning at about 2 a.m.

The fire also damaged three vehicles parked along 6th Street SE. Portions of those vehicles facing the flames were melted.

Greg Buelow, spokesman for the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, said because the complex was under construction, there wasn't much to keep the fire from spreading.

“At this point (in construction) you don't have the barriers established - the fire walls that would separate rooms. Normally in a commercial structure you'd have doors that would slow the fire down,” Buelow said.

Buelow said the fire is under investigation. Workers recently had hooked up electrical and water service at the construction site.

The Villages complex was being developed by Sky's Edge Development LLC and had received a Community Block Development Grant for 22 apartments, a restaurant and convenience store.

Mike Sandersfeld, president of Sky's Edge Development LLC, said Saturday afternoon that they were turning the corner in the project.

“We were set to put in sheetrock on Monday,” he said. “It's just a real shocker. We've had a lot of support the whole time but it's just a heartbreaker.”

Even with the destruction and the damage from the fire, Sandersfeld said this may not close the door on development.

“My partners and I still believe it to be a valuable asset to the community,” he said.

Dale Todd, a project manager for a neighboring developer, added that the loss of a nearby development is a blow to plans to renovate the entire New Bohemia area.

Chris Earl contributed to this report.