Construction of CRST riverfront headquarters ready to start

By Rick Smith, The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS Groundbreaking is set for Wednesday on CRST International Inc.s new 11-story, $37-million headquarters on the downtown riverfront.

The site across First Street SE from the Alliant Energy tower is being prepared for construction.

Most noticeably, the 100 or so vehicles that parked in a temporary lot since fall 2011 have moved to other parking spots in the downtown.

Marc Gullickson, president of Ryans Midwest region, said construction will begin immediately after Wednesdays groundbreaking ceremony with excavation and removal of foundation material from earlier structures on the site.

The building will be ready for occupancy in the first quarter of 2016, he said.

The CRST site, in the 200 block of First Street SE, previously was home to the First Street Parkade, which was slated for demolition for some years and was demolished in the summer of 2011 after sustaining flood damage in 2008.

On Saturday, another sign of change was the removal of 13 trees from the CRST site, which were added when the surface parking lot was put in place in 2011.

Daniel Gibbins, the citys parks superintendent, said the city is moving the two-year-old trees to Noelridge and Cherry Hill parks. Its not the best time of the year to move trees, but the recent wet soil conditions should help the trees survive, he said.

In 2011, five downtown entities created Short Term Parking Solution LC and financed the temporary parking lots construction with the thought that it would provide parking until the city found a company to build on the site.

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Construction of CRST riverfront headquarters ready to start