Iowa City council members approve purchase agreement paving way for development on former Sabin Elementary site

IOWA CITY - The Iowa City Council has approved a purchase agreement for a private/public partnership to create a parking ramp wrapped in condominium units in the location of the now vacant Henry Sabin Elementary School.

The council on Tuesday voted 6-0, with council member Rick Dobyns absent, to approve the agreement between the city, A & M Development and Capital One Public Funding for the construction and following purchase of a roughly $15.3 million parking structure - with room for more than 600 vehicles - on the corner of Dubuque and Harrison streets. The lease agreement came out of a negotiation process with five lenders, city staff said.

The developer's plans to add 28 town house condominiums - three of which will be dedicated to affordable housing - around the parking ramp adds roughly $7 million to the project cost.

'It's another good project going out in Riverfront Crossings,” Council member Susan Mims said.

Dennis Bockenstedt, Iowa City finance director, said the city will lease the parking ramp from the property owner for two decades, at which point the city will own the ramp portion of the structure while the developer maintains ownership of the condos to rent or sell.

'It's a lease purchase so we'll make payments to them over a 20 year period,” he said.

Late last year, the city's Economic Development Committee approved an approximately $976,000, 11.4 year tax increment finance rebate to the developer for the project. The development agreement was approved earlier this year.

With the Riverfront Crossings District seeing increased development, officials hope the added parking ramp will address a growing need for parking in the area.

Also during Tuesday's meeting, the council approved an amendment to the townhomes project agreement, which shifts the anticipated completion date from late 2016 to March 2017. Adjusted completion dates of nearby projects including the MidWestOne Bank Tower and Harrison Street reconstruction pushed the Sabin Townhomes project timeline, according to city documents.