Iowa City Council approves requests from two developments

$1.8 million TIF for apartments, height bonus for 15-story tower

By Mitchell Schmidt, The Gazette

December 3, 2014 | 8:06 am

IOWA CITY The Iowa City Council has given the green light to provide financial aid to a local developers plans for a Riverside Drive apartment complex and has approved the requested height bonus for a proposed 15-story tower.

The council approved Tuesday $1.8 million in tax increment financing rebates to Emrico Properties to help fund a $16.1 million apartment building on the former site of Hartwig Motors, 629 S. Riverside Drive, in the citys Riverfront Crossings district.

While the vote was unanimous in favor of the nine-year rebate, Mayor Matt Hayek said he was initially hesitant of the resolution.

"I will be a very reluctant supporter of this," Hayek said. "The thing that gets me over the boundary, the ledge, to be able to support this is the catalyst factor."

The four-story, U-shaped building would include a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and eight three-bedroom apartments. Twelve of the 96 units in the building will be geared toward workforce housing and 71 parking stalls will be included beneath the building with parking for another 105 vehicles behind the complex.

Stressing sustainability, the building proposes solar panels on the roof and recycling centers on each floor.

City staff estimate the sites property value to increase from about $50,000 per year to about $320,000 annually with the building.

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Iowa City Council approves requests from two developments