Coralville City Council votes in favor of new development despite mayor's opposition

The Coralville City Council voted Tuesday to go ahead with a large redevelopment of the intersection of 1st Avenue and Highway 6, despite objections from the mayor and one councilmember.

Councilmember Hai Huynh and Mayor Meghann Foster were in full opposition to the project, both voicing concerns that it would displace current occupants of rental housing units, commercial space and restaurant space on the property. Many of these restaurants and shops are minority-owned, while the housing is more affordable than elsewhere in the city.

"I get a seat here to advocate for the people, the people who live in Coralville, who work in Coralville, who call this city home, and that is my duty," Huynh said. "I cannot advocate for economic development and in the same breath not advocate for true affordability."

Huynh said she wouldn't be able to support the project until there is a more concrete plan that allows the businesses and the residents to continue living and working in the area.

Huynh said she went to several of the business owners who operate in the area and said all of them were minorities. She said most of the residents are also from diverse backgrounds. She said the business owners said their rent is also affordable.

"Some of them have been there for as long as 15 years, 17 years, 20 years. That's all they know," Huynh said.

The 3-1 vote approved the second consideration of the rezoning of the property and approval of a master plan for the Gather Iowa/Folsom's Subdivision. Councilmember Mitch Gross was not present Tuesday, but did vote in favor of the plan at the last meeting.

The redevelopment would largely demolish all buildings on the lot between Walgreens and MidwestOne Bank to the east and the Iowa Lodge to the west. The development covers 12 acres and includes multi-family apartments, retail and restaurant space. The landscape concept plan provided by the developers shows a 510,000-square-foot project on 11 acres with nine total buildings.

The first lot, a large mixed-use building, would be six floors with a large parking structure of unknown height. There would be two retail spaces and one restaurant on the ground floor, which encompasses 100,000 square feet. The building is proposed to have 292 total residential units.

Typically, new developments in prime locations have high rent. For example, the RaelCorp development Gather Illinois, in the university town of Urbana, has monthly rents ranging from $739 per person for a four-bedroom apartment to $2,956 for a one-bedroom, according to Apartments.com. RaelCorp is also the developer of the Coralville project.

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Foster, who does not get to vote on the project, said she can't support any development that does not preserve "true affordability" in that area of town. While there will be a mixture of housing types, it puts 34 existing affordable units on the chopping block.

"I'm not talking about condos that are $200,000 or $180,000. I am talking about truly affordable. And I hope that we can look at other sections of the development and come up with concrete solutions for how we can preserve some of that," she said.

Foster said she received a lot of feedback from the community on the project. She said she was pleased that all the feedback she got was unanimous in wanting to preserve affordable housing.

"I cannot in good conscience displace residents and not provide them with an alternative," she said.

Huynh also asked several questions of the developers

"I am all for that area to look nicer. It had been an issue for our city, we all know that. But we have to do better. If we work together I think we can find a solution that works for everyone," she said.

Councilmember Laurie Goodrich, who voted in favor, said she still views Coralville as a small town and there is room for everyone. She said, while it might not be on this land, there could be space elsewhere in the city.

Goodrich also claimed the current properties on the land haven't been inspected in a while and cast doubt on whether they would pass an inspection. The City Council voted in October to strengthen and revamp its rental inspection code in order to lower the amount of failed inspections, a change that Goodrich voted in favor of.

Coralville Community Development Director David Johnson pointed out that there are inspections scheduled in these units in the next two weeks to gauge the quality of them and make sure they are safe and sanitary.

"I believe we are a caring community, and I believe that as we build in this area, we are also going to be investigating and looking and extending on down the line more land that will be available in that area that can be looked at as more affordable," Goodrich said.

Goodrich pointed out that the area is flood-prone, which is something the project seeks to improve upon.

City Administrator Kelly Hayworth said that the owners of the land were initially going to tear all of the existing buildings down to make way for a fast-food chain and gas station. This changed when RaelCorp, which does not own the land, proposed this new development.

"We tried to get something more productive out of that property than a gas station and fast food," Hayworth said.

Huynh pushed back against Goodrich and Hayworth, saying she recognizes the right of the landowners to sell the land and change their property, but said it is common courtesy to give tenants information about future plans.

Nick Hatz with Shive-Hattery, who is partnering with RaelCorp on this project, said the business owners require a longer amount of time to be given a notice than residential. He said it is a complex process comparable to a "chicken and the egg" scenario to decide when to give residents notice to leave in relation to how far along the plans are for the development.

Foster emphasized that there is still time and more details to be worked out. She said she wants to make sure these questions get answered before the project gets further along and gains more city approval.

"It's not like tomorrow this is happening," she said. "We just need to make sure we keep our eye on the ball."

The City Council will consider the rezoning request for its third and final reading at its next meeting on Aug. 23.

George Shillcock is the Press-Citizen's local government and development reporter covering Iowa City and Johnson County. He can be reached at (515) 350-6307, GShillcock@press-citizen.com and on Twitter @ShillcockGeorge

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Coralville's Gather Iowa development advances despite concerns