City of Cedar Rapids not alone in wanting to buy a downtown building; Des Moines is doing it, too

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids' isn't the only city looking to buy a downtown building.

On Monday, the city of Des Moines announced that it has offered to buy the downtown YWCA building in Des Moines for $1.05 million. The property is appraised at $3.95 million.

The Des Moines City Council will vote on the building purchase on June 28.

According to the Des Moines Register, Rick Clark, the city manager in Des Moines, has said the city of Des Moines wants to purchase the YWCA building to control the future development prospects for the building and for a city-owned parking ramp next door, which is near the end of its useful life's future.

The city of Des Moines had bid to buy the building earlier, but lost out to a private-sector bid. That bid, though, fell through.

On a 6-1 vote last week, the City Council voted to bid to buy the city's only downtown hotel, the long-struggling Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel, from its creditors.

A hotel consultant advising the city has put the value of the hotel at $2.2 million, though the city says it will offer less. The appraisal, the city says, doesn't account for some repairs needed to be made as a result of the June 2008 flood.

If purchased, the city could face millions more in refurbishing costs, though the council has said the hotel will be worth more than it spends once the new Event Center convention center is built next to it and the U.S. Cellular Center arena, attached to the hotel, is upgraded.

Cedar Rapids council member Chuck Swore, who voted for the city of Cedar Rapids to buy the downtown hotel, has pointed out that the city of Cedar Rapids has bought buildings before. He pointed to the former Sinclair packing plant as a case in point. The Sinclair plant, both flood-damaged and fire-damaged, is being demolished. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is paying for the demolition and also will pay the city some $18.5 million to use elsewhere because the Sinclair buildings can't be reused because of the flood.

Cedar Rapids city officials also have pointed out that the city of Coralville owns the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.