Cedar Rapids gets new downtown housing, with a historic touch

The Dows Developing, 210 2nd St. SE, is remaining reworked into an apartments in downtown Cedar Rapids. The building’s 1st floor will continue to be place of work area, with 43 studio, just one-bedroom and two-bed room apartments earlier mentioned. The units are predicted to be all set to rent by month’s conclusion. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Design crews on Tuesday place the ultimate touches on renovations to the Dows Developing, 210 Next St. SE, Cedar Rapids. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

A employee on Tuesday finishes the flooring in one particular of the 43 residences in the recently transformed Dows Creating, 210 Second St. SE, in downtown Cedar Rapids. The residences will be prepared to lease by the close of June. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

A freshly reworked condominium awaits a renter in the Dows Constructing, 210 Second St. SE, in downtown Cedar Rapids. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

CEDAR RAPIDS — Developer Steve Emerson is remodeling a few historic downtown Cedar Rapids business properties into housing models, with the very first just one scheduled to open by the conclude of this thirty day period.

The seven-tale Dows Developing, at 210 Next St. SE, will be the very first to open up, with 43 studio, a single-bedroom and two-bedroom residences. The floor floor will continue on to be applied for place of work place.

The complete interior of the Skogman Setting up, 417 Initially Ave. SE, will be transformed into apartments — the closing number has not been made the decision — by year’s end.

And do the job on the Iowa Building, 411 3rd St. SE, is to be accomplished sometime up coming 12 months. Its first two floors will continue being place of work house, with flats on the major flooring. The Jimmy John’s restaurant will keep on working on the floor floor.

Rents have nevertheless to be established.

Grants, tax credits

The scheduling and the paperwork for the jobs took a few of a long time, given the tax credits and grants Emerson sought and won.

“Just having them established up, to check out likely just after grants, getting all the things documented to make certain that it is really historic, and complying with the historic policies as we change, it normally takes a lot of time and a large amount of overview in the course of action,” Emerson stated.

The Iowa Economic Improvement Authority awarded $1.5 million in tax credits for the redevelopment of the Skogman Constructing and the Iowa Constructing in Oct 2021.

Steve Emerson

Other awards for the Dows Developing provided workforce housing credits, brownfield/grayfield tax credits and point out and federal historic tax credits.

The Skogman Building gained $750,000 in redevelopment tax credits mainly because it’s viewed as to be in a brownfield or grayfield website.

And the Iowa Building, which is mentioned on the Nationwide Sign-up of Historic Sites, was awarded $979,559 in workforce housing tax credits.

Dows Making

Remodeling a historic building, whilst retaining its historic factors, takes finesse.

At the Dows developing, the floor level’s initial terrazzo flooring — a composite that has a pops of coloration with aggregate chips — remains, as does the initial entry, which was uncovered, cleaned and restored.

The flooring inside of the apartments, though, is new vinyl tile.

Adam Covington, the household residence manager from Blend Property Management, compares the rehab of a historic creating to a puzzle.

“That’s why I really like the historic houses and renovations, just mainly because you might be given a set of pointers,” he mentioned. “It’s truly about maximizing and generating the greatest area that you can or the finest finishes that you can in just that established of parameters.

“So ordinarily, (you) go by means of a task and get or glance at samples of the supplies that are presently in the building,” Covington explained. “And then from that we’ll be ready to either replicate or mimic what was originally in the creating.”

When other structures have a additional classic aesthetic like oak cabinetry and reclaimed hardwood floors, Covington needed the Dows Setting up to have a present-day and modern style with black cabinetry and chrome components.

“It’s the similar model of cabinetry, appliances, similar countertops, but generally there are different coloration cabinets … the washed patina like the gray,” he claimed. “Then the other flooring … are all black cabinets, wooden, black cabinetry, chrome hardware, and that form of things.”

Although the appliances and cupboards are new, the developing maintains its unique corridors and interior doorways.

Preservation pluses

Nikki Halvorson, president of Save CR Heritage, reported historic properties offer character and retain the complicated material of Cedar Rapids neighborhoods intact.

The financial investment and reuse of historic properties appeals to folks to are living downtown, she mentioned, including she hopes the new models give cost-effective housing.

“One point that’s amazing, as well, is that when we maintain our character downtown, we improve the probability of folks wanting to come search and tour to reside right here,” Halverson mentioned.

Also, more mature, historic properties can very last extended, she said.

“Surviving older structures have lasted this prolonged, for the reason that they are constructed nicely, and they’re created of supplies that are like rare or practically impossible to find now at an affordable expense.”

Nikki Halvorson, Conserve CR Heritage

Incentives

Caleb Mason, the economic growth supervisor for the city of Cedar Rapids, stated historic preservation is critical to the community and aids enhance housing possibilities and guidance local enterprises.

In addition to preserving historic belongings to the local community, historic renovations produce a vibrancy that draws in men and women downtown and supports local retail, he stated.

Though converting business buildings into housing can be intricate, the city presents incentives to assistance make the assignments monetarily feasible, Mason mentioned.

“Our incentives are often dependent on creating new price,” he stated.

“So just, for illustration, in one of these jobs, you have an current benefit there, and the developer tends to make a $10 million expense, which raises the residence value,” Mason reported.

”Correspondingly, the (home) taxes boost, and we can do one thing with that increased tax base created by their expenditure and divert that back again to them.“

Caleb Mason, Cedar Rapids economic development manager (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

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