New images of proposed downtown Hy-Vee released

New images of the proposed Court Avenue Hy-Vee were released Friday, providing a glimpse of how one of downtown's most anticipated and controversial developments could take shape.

The renderings show the mixed-used development at 420 Court Ave. standing four stories tall with a 35,000-square-foot grocery store on the ground floor and 81 apartments on the three upper floors. A two-level parking garage with about 200 stalls stands behind the building on the south side of the lot.

The main grocery store entrance is on Court Avenue about halfway between Fourth and Fifth streets. Hy-Vee's full-service restaurant, Market Grill, is located on the northeast corner of the building with patio seating across Fourth Street from the restaurant Dos Rios.

A small green space, or "pocket park," is south of the parking ramp, near the intersection of Fourth and Depot streets. There is space along Fourth Street where an additional development could be built, according to documents from the City's Urban Design Review Board.

The board is scheduled to review the design of the $30 million project Tuesday. The project will come before the board at least once more for a final design review and a review of the yet-to-be-announced incentive package from the city.

According to a city memo on the project, the building's architecture includes a mix of brick, metal louvres, and aluminum and simulated wood panels.

The project fails to meet two design guidelines for the Court Avenue historic area: The facade would be less than 75 percent brick as required and the parking garage would fail to meet the requirement that new buildings stand at least 36 feet tall, the memo said.

Since Hy-Vee and Knapp Properties proposed the grocery store development last February, the plans have been met with applause and criticism.

The Historic Court District Association, a group of downtown business owners, created a petition on MoveOn.org asking the city to reconsider the project. The group said a grocery store would snarl parking in the area and doesn't fit in with the historic and urban nature of the popular entertainment and dining district.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association, a resident group, responded with a letter asking the City Council to support the project. Downtown residents have said a grocery store would help eliminate a food desert in the city's core.

Construction of the grocery store is expected to begin in the spring and wrap in 2016.