New downtown Cedar Rapids parking ramp across from hotel and Convention Complex now on front burner

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council appears ready to take on debt to build a new parking ramp across First Avenue East from the city-owned Five Seasons Hotel, U.S. Cellular Center arena and coming new convention center.

This week's council agenda sets a public hearing for June 28 on a proposal to issue $13 million in debt for a Convention Complex parking ramp, with some of the money also going for a project to build a new fire-escape stairway at The Roosevelt apartments.

In addition, the City Council this week is poised to approve a contract with OPN Architects Inc. for $112,000 to provide initial architectural and engineering services for the construction of the Convention Complex parking ramp. The item had been pulled from the council agenda three weeks ago, but now has returned to the agenda.

Last month, the City Council's Infrastructure Committee said it wanted to see additional analysis before it endorsed a plan to build a new Convention Complex parking ramp as well as a plan to build a second parking ramp on Second Street SE near the new federal courthouse.

The Cedar Rapids Downtown District, which is now overseeing the operation of the city's downtown parking system, is pushing for the construction of the two new ramps, in part, because two private ramps are being demolished as part of the convention center project while the city's flood-damaged First Street Parkade also is coming down. The city structure was slated for demolition before the June 2008 flood.

In the face of requests for two new parking ramps, the council's Infrastructure Committee in May asked about the possibility of establishing a dependable shuttle service, at least in the near term, so downtown employees who likely would use a Second Street SE ramp could park at much cheaper rates in the little-used city park-and-ride lot between Eighth and 12th avenues SE.

Doug Neumann, president/CEO of the Downtown District, said last week that the district's analysis shows that parking revenues in a new parking ramp across from the hotel and Convention Complex would be sufficient to pay 80 to 85 percent of the debt payments. The Downtown District is doing additional analysis for the proposed Second Street SE ramp, he said.

A skywalk connection from the hotel and Convention Complex to a new parking ramp across First Avenue East is also planned.

In a memorandum to the City Council, the city's engineering staff notes that the proposed Convention Complex parking ramp would go on property owned by the city and Theatre Cedar Rapids. The ramp is expected to have between 500 and 550 parking spaces, the memorandum says.

The City Hall expense at The Roosevelt apartments is the result of the demolition of a private parking ramp to make way for the new convention center. The private ramp had provided the secondary egress from The Roosevelt.

The cost of the new stairway at The Roosevelt is $591,100, with related project costs, including temporary stairway and subsidies for tenant rent during construction, adding another $390,000 cost to The Roosevelt project.