South Dubuque Street businesses forced to move

The cottages on the 600 block of South Dubuque Street were torn down last May, and the rest of the block will follow soon.

An owner of one of the shops located in the area confirmed he would have to relocate because of the development.

“We’re going to have to move soon,” said Craig Carney, the owner of Racquet Master, 620 S. Dubuque St.

Ted Pacha, who owns the property on the 600 block of South Dubuque between Prentiss Street and the railroad tracks, has previously told The Daily Iowan he intends to rezone and develop the property. Pacha was unable to be reached at the time of writing this article.

This comes more then a year after the Iowa City City Council decided not to grant the three cottages previously located on the block historic-landmark status, which would have prevented the development of the land as originally planned by Pacha.

The cottage at 614 S. Dubuque St. was demolished in the middle of the night on Dec. 25, 2014, followed by public outcry from the community. After the demolition, a public hearing on the cottages was delayed from Jan. 20, 2015, to Feb. 9, 2015, by the City Council. The council decided to not grant historic-landmark status to the cottages at its meeting on Feb. 9 following heated arguments from both sides of the issue.

Carney, who has been in his current location for nine years, said the move isn’t ideal, but he understands why it is happening.

“Obviously, I don’t want to move,” Carney said. “But Pacha owns the property, and I know he’s had plans for it and wants to rezone, so I understand.”

An employee for another business on the block, Shoe Doctor, 624 S. Dubuque St, said workers could not comment on the recent developments because of a pending lawsuit related to the issue.

Michael Chamberlin, the owner of the Broken Spoke, 757 S. Gilbert St., previously told The Daily Iowan that the decision on the cottages would mean redevelopment for the block. Chamberlin was unable to give an interview by press time.

“This sets a precedent,” Chamberlin said. “This is going to lead to the demolition of this entire block for ‘progress.’ ”

Carney said he and his neighboring business owners originally signed a lease until 2017 but did not expect to stay that long.

“We could be given a four months’ notice at any time,” he said. “So it was really only a four-month lease.”

Based on phone calls to businesses on the block, most are in the process of relocating.

One of the most likely uses of the area will be for a mixed-use development, with both residential and retail space.

But Chamberlain said he questioned whether the area needed redevelopment at all.