Downtown Cedar Rapids is a community gathering place

Since the pandemic opened the door to more flexible work arrangements, including working remotely from home, Cedar Rapids leaders have been reimagining downtown and core neighborhoods.

Big developments have grabbed headlines. There’s the First and First West development that will feature a Big Grove Brewery and other entertainment amenities. There’s the recently announced purchase of the Guaranty Bank building, World Theater and Dragon Building by Steve Emerson, who has been involved in numerous downtown projects. New housing is going up in New Bohemia and elsewhere in the city’s core. The city still hopes for a casino project.

It's all part of an effort to transform downtown into a destination beyond drawing a workforce to downtown jobs.

But one thing hasn’t changed as the downtown workforce shrinks. The core of Cedar Rapids remains a natural gathering place to the community. And efforts to keep residents coming to downtown events is a key strategy in keeping downtown and near downtown neighborhoods vibrant.

Last Saturday’s CR Pride Festival in the Newbo neighborhood drew 23,000 people. Of course, the downtown farmers market draws an average attendance of 13,000 patrons at each market. The Market After Dark, slated for Aug. 26, had drawn an average attendance of 30,000 people. The Freedom Festival also brought scores of people to downtown on July 4.

Uptown Friday Nights concerts returned this summer, with an abbreviated schedule. A series of concerts at the McGrath Amphitheatre have also drawn people downtown, with a dozen more scheduled through the end of September.

Some 6,000 flowers and plants in planers and new murals provide a backdrop for Cedar Rapids residents coming together downtown.

With the growing number of core neighborhood events and developments that will provide more infrastructure for housing and entertainment venues, we believe the city’s downtown plans are on track. And that’s promising news for restaurants, bars and other businesses that have stuck with downtown and the city’s core through a pandemic, an economic downturn and a derecho.

This isn’t the first time downtown has had to show its resilience. The 2008 flood inundated the city’s core, but many resolved to recover and remain. We’re confident downtown can do it again.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com