Vets Commission moves on Vets Building renovation; will put mechanical, electrical systems up on a piece of the auditorium stage

CEDAR RAPIDS - Renovation of the flood-damaged Veterans Memorial Building on May's Island took a step forward last night when the Veterans Memorial Commission backed a plan to move the building's heating, cooling, electrical and other vital systems to a safe, higher spot in the building.

As part of the plan, the building's new steam boilers will be placed on the back 11 feet of what now is a stage in the first-floor auditorium. Electrical switches, computer servers and a fire control system then will be built above the new boiler room, explained Mike Jager, the city's veterans memorial director.

Initially, commission members Gary Grant and Jerry Ziese said they wanted to make sure that by leaving only 20 to 25 feet of the width of the stage that the commission wasn't hurting the auditorium's chances to host certain types of events.

Jager noted that the downtown has a number of other venues with stages, and commission member George Hammond conceded that the Vets auditorium stage hadn't hosted many events that might need a wider stage over the last 20 years.

In the end, commission members decided they needed to move on the plan so they can heat the building by winter and so don't need to use a temporary system, which can cost $100,000 a month.

Jager also presented other preliminary plans from architect Paul Alt of Chicago that call for moving the auditorium seating from the sides of the venue to one end of it. Jager said Alt's plans show how the large auditorium can be broken into spaces for what Jager said could be a veterans museum, an art museum featuring veterans art and perhaps a cafe.

Such changes won't come without a debate.

Jim Bruner, a past commission member who identified himself as vice president of the Metro Veterans Council, reported that the veterans council wants the auditorium off the lobby - a lobby that features the Grant Wood-designed stained-glass window -- to remain as it has been with “no changes.” Much of the Veterans Memorial Building has changed, he noted, except for the auditorium.

Jager said the auditorium had “degraded over time.”

Nancy Bruner, Jim Bruner's wife and a past City Council candidate, asked the commission if it was acceptable to make changes to the Vets building without violating historical requirements for the building.

Jager said the State Historic Preservation Office must review and sign off on any changes.

Hammond said it was important not to forget what the building was built for in the 1920s, “to honor vets.”

The Veterans Memorial Building always had been home to City Hall until the June 2008 flood. Earlier this year, the City Council voted to return city government to the building and to move some city offices nearby in what had been the federal courthouse. The city is acquiring ownership of the courthouse in a swap for land on which the new courthouse is being built.