10th anniversary post: Downtown

Peppercorn at the Bank, 101 3rd Av SW

Ten years ago this month, the Holy Mountain blog was wringing its bloggy hands about the rebuilding of downtown Cedar Rapids. The opening of an upscale restaurant, Popoli, across the river in the 100-year-old former People's Savings Bank building, had me wondering if downtown was reinventing itself as a playground for the rich.

Today, that space is occupied by Peppercorn Food Company, which opens it for events like wedding receptions and corporate lunches. Even their website is elegant! But downtown as a whole has become a delightful mix of upscale and regular, not to mention commercial and office/service and residential--and coffee and alcohol! The public library and art museum face each other across Greene Square, and there are a number of performing arts venues within walking distance of those residences. Converting one-way streets back to two-way has improved, well, just about everything.

In 2013 I included both sides of the river in my definition of downtown. Today the west side has rebranded as Kingston Village, so that "downtown" to most Cedar Rapidians means the area between the river and maybe 6th Street, from A Avenue to 6th Avenue. (That would be a good question to crowd-source! I bet I'd get some disagreement about that.) I think both sides of the river are important components of the city center, however. Both sides have particular handicaps, but I think the west side's are more easily overcome, and I'm bullish on its long-term development. 

This week I engaged in a rather haphazard web search for housing in the city center, and even though some $450,000 condos have gotten a lot of attention, I found plenty that was not high-end.

Apartments at the Ashton Flats, 217 7th Av SW, run $913-1089 a month
(from their website)

The Village Lofts on 3rd Avenue SW start rentals at $1000 a month; the older Roosevelt Hotel starts at $675. There are more reasonably-priced condos as well: 200 3rd Avenue SW and 905 3rd Street SE run in the upper $100,000s, and condos are available in the Ground Transportation Center building for less. What downtown doesn't have, not surprisingly, is many single-family homes, but there are houses for sale on both sides of the river maybe 1.5 miles away. 

Among a shifting array of downtown restaurants, El Dorado, an unpretentious Mexican bar and grill with magnificent food, has become a favorite with my family. Whatever worries we had ten years ago about the elitism of downtown have not come to pass.

Downtown remains a work in progress. I keep expecting the increased residential population to produce some facilities catering to everyday needs, like grocery stores, pharmacies, and hardware stores. That has not yet happened. There's a big Hy-Vee on Wilson Avenue 1.9 miles away, 7 minutes away by car even at rush hour--the Czech Village Sav-A-Lot and the 1st Avenue are even closer--and that may be all anyone feels they need.

A frequent complaint about downtown is the lack of parking. This is because most of Cedar Rapids remains car-dependent, most people downtown at the moment have driven there from somewhere else, and because the acres of surface parking nearby are not accessible (because privately-owned) or not considered nearby enough to suit drivers. There's a tradeoff between parking and quality-of-life that is not readily recognized. But the struggle is real. A few weeks ago we attended a play downtown on a night there was also a symphony concert. I wish we could have taken a bus instead of driving and parking, but alas, on Saturday night there is no bus.

The future of downtown depends on its connections to nearby neighborhoods. The transect is a concept that refers to development that becomes gradually less intense as it gets farther from the city center. Unfortunately, Cedar Rapids' downtown area is separated from neighborhoods on all sides, so the intensity dramatically collapses. This is particularly true on the east side, where the vast MedQuarter neighborhood lies between downtown and Wellington Heights, and is nearly empty except for weekday working hours. The west side must contend with the interstate and the proposed casino development. 

Together, the MedQuarter, I-380, and the casino-to-be surround downtown in such a way to prevent much walkability. But the west side barriers (highway, casino) seem to me more permeable, and I have hopes that they can be overcome.

NOTE: The City Council will consider a new downtown plan at its December 5 meeting. 

SEE ALSO: 

"The Future of Downtown Cedar Rapids," 24 June 2022

"News from Downtowns," 23 June 2017