Cedar Rapids gets new downtown housing, with a historic touch

The Dows Constructing, 210 2nd St. SE, is staying transformed into an flats in downtown Cedar Rapids. The building’s initially flooring will continue to be office space, with 43 studio, a person-bed room and two-bed room residences previously mentioned. The units are predicted to be all set to hire by month’s finish. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

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

A employee on Tuesday finishes the flooring in a single of the 43 residences in the newly reworked Dows Developing, 210 2nd St. SE, in downtown Cedar Rapids. The apartments will be completely ready to rent by the stop of June. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

A newly reworked apartment awaits a renter in the Dows Making, 210 Next St. SE, in downtown Cedar Rapids. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

CEDAR RAPIDS — Developer Steve Emerson is reworking 3 historic downtown Cedar Rapids workplace properties into housing units, with the 1st one scheduled to open up by the conclude of this month.

The 7-tale Dows Making, at 210 Next St. SE, will be the very first to open, with 43 studio, just one-bed room and two-bedroom residences. The floor ground will keep on to be employed for business house.

The total inside of the Skogman Setting up, 417 Initially Ave. SE, will be converted into apartments — the final range hasn’t been resolved — by year’s finish.

And get the job done on the Iowa Developing, 411 3rd St. SE, is to be done sometime subsequent yr. Its to start with two flooring will stay office house, with apartments on the top flooring. The Jimmy John’s restaurant will carry on functioning on the ground floor.

Rents have but to be determined.

Grants, tax credits

The organizing and the paperwork for the jobs took a pair of yrs, specified the tax credits and grants Emerson sought and won.

“Just getting them set up, to attempt likely just after grants, receiving anything documented to make sure that it is historic, and complying with the historic policies as we convert, it can take a good deal of time and a ton of assessment in the process,” Emerson mentioned.

The Iowa Economic Improvement Authority awarded $1.5 million in tax credits for the redevelopment of the Skogman Making and the Iowa Setting up in October 2021.

Steve Emerson

Other awards for the Dows Setting up provided workforce housing credits, brownfield/grayfield tax credits and condition and federal historic tax credits.

The Skogman Developing received $750,000 in redevelopment tax credits because it is regarded as to be in a brownfield or grayfield website.

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

Dows Setting up

Remodeling a historic making, whilst retaining its historic factors, usually takes finesse.

At the Dows setting up, the floor level’s initial terrazzo flooring — a composite that incorporates a pops of color with aggregate chips — remains, as does the first entry, which was uncovered, cleaned and restored.

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

Adam Covington, the household residence manager from Blend Residence Administration, compares the rehab of a historic making to a puzzle.

“That’s why I really like the historic houses and renovations, just simply because you are given a established of rules,” he reported. “It’s seriously about maximizing and generating the ideal house that you can or the best finishes that you can within just that established of parameters.

“So commonly, (you) go by means of a project and gather or glance at samples of the elements that are by now in the setting up,” Covington mentioned. “And then from that we’ll be capable to either replicate or mimic what was originally in the setting up.”

Though other properties have a a lot more classic aesthetic like oak cabinetry and reclaimed hardwood flooring, Covington wanted the Dows Making to have a up to date and contemporary design and style with black cabinetry and chrome components.

“It’s the exact same model of cabinetry, appliances, exact same countertops, but essentially there are distinctive color cabinets … the washed patina like the gray,” he reported. “Then the other floors … are all black cupboards, wooden, black cabinetry, chrome components, and that form of things.”

Even though the appliances and cupboards are new, the making maintains its first corridors and interior doorways.

Preservation pluses

Nikki Halvorson, president of Help save CR Heritage, stated historic buildings deliver character and hold the intricate cloth of Cedar Rapids neighborhoods intact.

The investment decision and reuse of historic structures draws in men and women to dwell downtown, she reported, introducing she hopes the new units offer inexpensive housing.

“One detail which is awesome, as well, is that when we preserve our character downtown, we boost the probability of people today seeking to occur glance and tour to live below,” Halverson explained.

Also, more mature, historic structures can last longer, she claimed.

“Surviving older structures have lasted this very long, because they’re built nicely, and they’re crafted of resources that are like unusual or pretty much difficult to discover now at an reasonably priced price.”

Nikki Halvorson, Conserve CR Heritage

Incentives

Caleb Mason, the economic progress manager for the city of Cedar Rapids, stated historic preservation is essential to the neighborhood and aids raise housing opportunities and help neighborhood companies.

In addition to preserving historical property to the group, historic renovations generate a vibrancy that attracts men and women downtown and supports nearby retail, he mentioned.

While converting industrial properties into housing can be complicated, the metropolis features incentives to enable make the assignments financially feasible, Mason said.

“Our incentives are usually based mostly on producing new benefit,” he explained.

“So just, for illustration, in a single of these projects, you have an existing benefit there, and the developer tends to make a $10 million expense, which raises the assets worth,” Mason claimed.

”Correspondingly, the (residence) taxes enhance, and we can do anything with that elevated tax base produced by their financial investment and divert that again to them.“

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

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