Nine Proposals Submitted for Coveted College Street Property

In August the City of Iowa City issued a request for development proposals for the property on the northeast corner of College and Gilbert Streets, formerly occupied by Wilson's Sporting Goods.

The city received ten proposals for the location, which is a coveted spot in the changing downtown, with one developer later withdrawing from the running, limiting the pool to nine. The New-Pioneer Co-Op has previously expressed interest in relocating its Iowa City location to a high-rise building in this location, and the grocery store's relocation is included in several of the ten vying for the property.

These proposals will be evaluated by an internal committee made up of: representatives from the City Manager's office; members from the Planning, Public Works, and City Attorney's offices; two members of the City Council; and an outside financial consultant. The committee will review the proposals in the next three to four weeks, gathering additional information as need.

From this winnowing out process, a short-list of finalists will be recommended to give presentations to the full City Council in a public work session. It is anticipated that the selection process may take several months to complete.

A summary of the proposals, including images, will be made available for the public at the Planning and Community Development office in City Hall, 410 East Washington Street. After the review committee has recommended finalists, these proposals will be made available on the City's website at www.icgov.org.

Here is a list of the proposals provided by the city

• 4 Zero 4 Development: This proposal is for an eight-story building including the New Pioneer Co-op and the Bike Library on the first floor, two floors of office space, and five floors of efficiency, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

This proposal is for a LEED Platinum building attempting to achieve net-zero energy living units and energy-efficient commercial space; over 1,300 photovoltaic panels are proposed on the exterior of the building. Tim Dwight is the primary contact for this project.

• Burns/MDK Development: This proposal is for a 13-story building with grocery/retail on the first floor, one floor of office space proposed for a video-game developer, and up to 11 floors of studio, one- and two-bedroom residential units, a combination of rental apartments and condos.

This proposal is for a mixed-use facility with a target of 5%-10% of the residential units being for workforce housing. Robert Burns is the primary contact for this project.

• Campus Acquisitions: This proposal is for a 15-story building with a grocery on first and second floors, two floors of office space, one floor of lobby and residential amenities, and 10 floors of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The proposal indicates the office space will be targeted business incubator organizations, technology and new companies with flexible design features. Tom Scott is the primary contact for this proposal.

• The Chauncey LLC: This proposal is for a 20-story building including two movie theaters operated by FilmScene, a bowling alley and cafe on the first floor, three floors of office space, a 35-unit hotel, and 12 floors of studio, one- and two- bedroom residential units.

This proposal is for a mixed-use facility with a target of 20% minimum of the residential units being available for workforce housing. The proposal includes upgrading Chauncey Swan Park. Steve Rohrbach is the primary contact for this proposal.

• Chauncey Gardens LLC: This proposal is for an 18-story building including the New Pioneer Co-op on the first floor, one floor of retail/restaurant, two floors of office space, one floor of resident amenities, and 13 floors of studio, one- and two-bedroom residential units.

This proposal envisions constructing a building on the current Chauncey Swan Park site, and converting the existing Greyhound/Wilson Building/substation site to a new Chauncey Swan Park/outdoor amphitheater. The studio units in the proposal are identified as workforce housing units. Jesse Allen is the primary contact for this proposal.

• GILCOL LLC: This proposal is for a six-story building including commercial space on the first and second floors, and four floors of one- and two-bedroom condominium apartments. 

The proposal states the desire to create an attractive and functional mixed use building, with commercial uses at the street level and a mix of one- and two-bedroom residential units in the upper floors. Jeff Clark is the primary contact for this proposal.

• Ryan Companies/Iceberg Development: This proposal is for a five-story building including the New Pioneer Co-op on the first floor, and four floors of studio, one- and two-bedroom condos.

The proposal indicates a desire to pursue LEED certification for the building, including a green roof, solar panels, and a roof-top cistern collection system. Jim Bergman and Marc Gullickson are the primary contacts for this proposal.

• SagaCity: This proposal is for a five-story, 119-unit upscale hotel with meeting rooms on the first floor, and four stories of hotel rooms.

The proposal notes pursuing LEED certification for the structure, and states that anticipated occupancies could bring up to 40,000 visitors annually. Lincoln McIlravy is the primary contact for this proposal.

• Sherman Associates: This proposal is for a 13-story building including New Pioneer Co-op on the first floor, one floor of office, and 11 floors of workforce housing rental units.

The proposal indicates a desire for 100% of the residential units to be targeted for workforce housing. A second option presented in the proposal is for a six-story building with commercial (Co-op) on the first floor and five floors of residential. George Sherman is the primary contact for this proposal.