“Banjo Block” Development to Be Scrapped

SC Bodner, an Indiana developer who was planning to put more than $30 million into a vacant downtown Cedar Rapids block, is abandoning the project.

The 500 block of 4th Ave. SE where Dupaco Community Credit Union and Banjo Refrigeration once stood, was to become an apartment complex.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority had originally approved JC Bodner for an $800,000 tax credit but according to Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomerantz, the redevelopment plan became too complicated and expensive for Bodner to undertake.

The plan was to include a 186,000-square-feet building to include apartments, a full-block parking garage and an additional 4,000 square feet for a gym, bike shop, and storage.

This was the first time a single developer had secured the entire block for a project, and Pomerantz called the withdrawal disappointing, though he did not rule out Bodner's involvement in other future development in Cedar Rapids.

So, a long-dormant block around the Cedar Rapids Public Library and Greene Square Park will stay that way, at least for a while.

[Via Gazette]