In 2023, the City of Iowa City bought a property, 21 S. Linn St., for $4.5 million. Since then, the city has faced a decision on what will occupy the downtown plot.
Now, there are several proposals from local Iowa companies that the Iowa City City Council and community members will consider before making an option.
Iowa City residents quickly started advocating for various potential projects for the property, including a public park or other community spaces. Redevelopment plans continued for several years until last November when proposals for the land were due.
The first proposal comes from a partnership between OPN Architects, Urban Acres Real Estate, and Grand Rail Development, which proposed a mid-rise six-story building that would offer a variety of uses.
The plan for the ground level of the building is undecided, but it would either include a performing arts and entertainment space or divide the space to potentially host restaurant or retail options. The other levels would contain commercial office space on levels two through four with housing on the remaining upper levels.
The next development proposal was submitted by Iceberg Development, Slingshot Architecture, and Hodge Construction.
The proposal includes a 13-story building that would provide low-income senior housing units, along with “micro-retail” spaces, and additional space for a restaurant, retail, or entertainment space.
The second and third floors would either contain office spaces or collaborate with The Englert Theatre to provide a live music venue on the second level. Several other levels would include additional office space for the city or other companies.
The final proposal comes from Salida Partners, Shive Hattery: Architecture and Engineering Consultants, Skydeck Capital, and Simeon Talley, and it would produce a 10-story building with a variety of uses.
The first floor would have a kitchen space, a flexible community room, and an entertainment venue managed by The Englert.
A “Stories Projects” Museum would be hosted on floors two through five, which would also contain a small art gallery and commercial office space. The other upper levels would be senior housing units along with other units.
The next steps include all three development teams presenting their proposals to the city council with community members voicing their opinions.
City Councilor Megan Alter, who works for ACT, will recuse herself from voting on the proposals due to a conflict of interest, as ACT has shown interest in two of the three proposals.
However, Alter is looking forward to the council’s decision, as the city is aiming to create a community-focused, vibrant building on the site, rather than just residential or commercial development.
“[The city council] decided the best way to put this forward was to create a request for proposal that would allow different developers to have imagination and creativity but with some guardrails of saying, ‘We really want this to be something that is welcoming to the community, that draws people to the downtown, so that it is not merely a destination place,’” Alter said.
Alter said whichever proposal is approved, she hopes it will greatly benefit the community.
RELATED: Iowa City begins accepting project proposals for Linn Street redevelopment
“Regardless of which plan is selected, there’s a variety of different uses in each one and will provide, I think, a model for a lot of folks — potentially developers — to be able to see how Iowa City really wants to leverage and maximize its space, so as much as the community can kind of coexist,” Alter said.
City Councilor Shawn Harmsen believes all three proposals have unique and intriguing visions, which will make it a challenging but satisfying selection process.
“I really want to hear from the different groups and kind of spend a little bit more time just sort of marinating and soaking with this to see what the best deal for that corner [is], for downtown and for the taxpayers of Iowa City,” Harmsen said.
Harmsen said the city council is looking for a place that will contain an inviting space, affordable commercial space, affordable housing components, and aesthetic qualities.
“When people come 50 years from now, we’re gonna look at that building like we look at some of our old buildings downtown and say, ‘Wow, it makes me happy to look at that,’” Harmsen said.
The Iowa City Senior Center’s Coordinator LaTasha DeLoach anticipates several benefits once construction is completed, such as offering potential senior housing, strengthening the center’s role in the community, and revitalizing a vacant lot.
“We’re looking forward to new neighbors — it’s been a vacant lot over there for a long time — we’ve been here so we’re well established and looking forward to potential partnerships,” DeLoach said.
Once a decision has been made, city staff will work with consultants for developers to sign a development agreement. As of now, there is no definite timeline for when a final proposal will be selected and when construction will begin.