C.R. Neighborhood Fights Against Convenience Store Expansion

Current plans for the tenth Cedar Rapids metro Kwik Star location in the last five years will not happen if tenants in that neighborhood and one city councilperson have anything to say about it.

1900 First Avenue NE near the Brucemore Mansion is the proposed location, and according to KCRG, many in the area say it's not a good fit. A petition with more than 100 signatures is currently circulating, saying the plans for the modern convenience store do not fit in with the context or aesthetics of the area. Jacob Wittrock of Stewart-Baxter Funeral Homes explains:

“[The dentist’s office] took down a historic house, which was sad that they took it down. But, when they built, they built the dental office to fit the neighborhood. It looks like a house. Kwik Star doesn’t look like a house. It looks like a gas station”

Councilmember Dale Todd has joined the cause as well, penning a letter to officials encouraging them to abandon their plans and asking to deny rezoning for a Kwik Star.

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Todd's letter, which can be read in full here, states in part: "I would like you to know that I am unequivocally opposed to efforts to rezone these properties for a convenience store for a host of reasons too numerous to enumerate." Todd made a note to praise the efforts of the growing convenience store chain, just not in this particular location, as it would be "disruptive" to the area.

For their part, developers made no comment other than to say they had no comment.