Transamerica property in Cedar Rapids sells for $7M

CEDAR RAPIDS — A buyer has stepped forward to redevelop the 51-acre Transamerica property at a prime location near Highway 100, but specific details about what will take shape at the site remain to be seen.

Real estate agent Kerry Panozzo — the owner of HomeSmart international, which has offices in the Quad Cities — said Friday his company closed on the purchase of the property at Edgewood Road and 42nd Street NE about a month ago. EOP Development LLC purchased the site for $7.02 million, according to Panozzo.

There is no timeline established yet for development. Panozzo declined to comment on specific plans and uses, such as whether a mixed-use commercial development is anticipated for the site.

“We’re still in the early stages,” Panozzo said. “We don’t have any plans in regards to the land at this point.”

He said his company plans to keep up the Edgewood Pointe Towers for use as multitenant office space subleased or leased as professional or medical offices, or other multitenant space. The two class-A office towers encompass more than 200,000 square feet.

“It’s right off Highway 100,” Panozzo said. “It hasn’t seen development in 50 years since Transamerica’s been there. It’s a great location and there’s a lot of growth in that area.”

The campus is zoned for flexible and mixed-use development, including commercial offices, retail, residential, parks, walking trails and sports courts.

Transamerica relocated its Cedar Rapids operations to the former Hibu site in southwest Cedar Rapids starting in 2016.

The property had been for sale since March 2021. It was marketed internationally and sold through California-based Ten-X in a two-day online auction event in June. The starting bid was $1.75 million.

Hunter Companies, a commercial developer in Cedar Rapids, was under contract to buy the site last year, but in November backed out of plans for a mixed-use development after hundreds of neighboring residents mobilized over concerns with traffic, stormwater management and tree removal.

Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz previously said the land is a “critical site” to Cedar Rapids, and the city will collaborate with the new owner to “ensure that it’s a quality development that will benefit our city.”

“It is our hope,” he said, “that that site and the new owner of the property are committed to developing the highest-quality development possible — one that provides amenities to the community but also creates jobs and economic opportunity for this key area and for the future of the entire city.”

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