9 Iowa City area development projects to watch in 2018

The new year is bringing with it a lot of large-scale development projects for the Iowa City area.

A new arena should break ground and a bevy of University of Iowa projects are expected to make major strides in the coming year, as some projects in and around Iowa City wrap up and others begin.

Here's a breakdown of the most visible development projects the Iowa City area will see in 2018:

Iowa City's Gateway Project

If Iowa City's largest flood mitigation project stays on track, all lanes of Dubuque Street and the new Park Road bridge will be open by October.

Public Works Director Ron Knoche said crews have finished pouring the first portion of the concrete deck of the new bridge and now will wait until spring to pour the remaining portion before tying the new bridge into Park Road and North Dubuque Street.

PREVIOUSLY: $59M Gateway Project kicks off this month

Work on the project began in spring 2016. In May 2016, the Iowa City Council voted to award the construction contract to Reinbeck-based Peterson Contractors Inc. for about $40.6 million.

Work on elevating southbound lanes of North Dubuque Street to 10 feet between Foster and Parks roads — an elevation that sits 1 foot above the 100-year flood level — has been completed, Knoche said, and crews in the spring will work to wrap up work on relocating the water main and the stormwater and sanitary sewer lines.

Before the project is finished, crews will work to elevate the northbound lanes of North Dubuque Street and will demolish the older Park Road Bridge.

The Chauncey

Ground broke on the 15-story Chauncey building in December 2016, more than four years after its construction was approved by the Iowa City Council.

Work on the first five stories at the northeast corner of College and Gilbert streets has progressed over the past year, and developer Marc Moen said concrete has been poured on the fifth floor, the first level of a new hotel.

Plans for the building also include apartments, condominiums, a bowling alley, space for an expanded FilmScene theater, a cafe, a restaurant and office space.

Moen said that the office space is available for advance leasing and that 75 percent of the condos already have been sold. As part of the development agreement, the city will purchase five one-bedroom condominiums from Moen for $1 million. They will be permanently maintained as affordable housing by the Iowa City Housing Authority.

Moen said he expects the project to be completed in July 2019.

The funding model for the project, approved by the City Council, includes a city investment of a $14.2 million economic development construction grant. The grant calls for conveyance of the property, which is valued at about $2.1 million, to the developer with the remaining $12.1 million funded through tax increment financing rebates over 25 years beginning in 2020 after the building has been operating and generating revenue.

RISE at Riverfront Crossings

A majority of the work on the 15-story residential and 14-story mixed-use buildings that comprise RISE at Riverfront Crossings development on the southwest corner of Linn and Court streets has been completed.

Work on the project, built on the site of the former St. Patrick’s Catholic Church parish hall site, began in mid-2016. In 2015, the Iowa City Council finalized its agreement with Chicago-based CA Ventures for the approximately $102.5 million project. The project required no tax increment financing, and developers contributed $1 million to the city's affordable housing fund.

A recent update on the project prepared by the city said the 14-story building houses 6,300 square feet of commercial space, 22,000 square feet of office space on the third and fourth floors, and a 150-room Hyatt Place hotel, complete with an indoor pool, fitness center, meeting rooms, lounges, and a bar cafe with a dining area.

The 15-story apartment building includes 330 apartments geared toward student housing; 10 percent of those apartments are reserved as affordable housing.

Iowa City's Economic Development Coordinator said that finishing work on some of the exterior walls and indoor finishing is still ongoing, but that the project is expected to be completed later this year.

7 S. Linn St.

In late 2016, after the Iowa City Council voted against a 14-story proposal for the site of the former Van Patten House at 7 S. Linn St., developer Kevin Monson, president of Neumann Monson Architects, earned approval from the city's Board of Adjustment allowing a seven-story building to be built.

Plans for the new building include commercial space on the first floor of the building, and 36 micro-apartments on the remaining floors. Monson has said the apartments will be workforce housing and rented at a price lower than market value.

At its November 2016 meeting, the Board of Adjustment voted to waive a requirement for 18 on-site parking spaces, an approval that allowed the building's construction but limited the height of the building.

City staff said the project is expected to be completed later this year.

Coralville Arena & road construction

One of the biggest construction projects that will break ground in 2018 is the Coralville arena, also known as the Iowa Arena. The 5,000 seat, multi-use arena is slated to cost $46 million and could house a U.S. Hockey League team, University of Iowa's club hockey team, major concerts and other events.

The arena, planned to be built in the Iowa River Landing at the intersection of East Ninth Street and East Second Avenue, is also projected to bring $190 million in development to the area.

The arena has garnered funding from several sources over the years. The Iowa Economic Development Authority committed $12 million to the project in 2016. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors pledged $200,000 for the arena project in 2016 as well.

Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth said that the plan is to break ground on the arena in March after three buildings in the area are demolished. If all goes to plan, the arena will be completed sometime in 2019.

Before the arena opens, major road construction will take over some of Coralville's most heavily trafficked roads.

First Avenue between East Sixth Street and East Ninth Street is set to see road construction from March until the end of 2018, Hayworth said. The road leads to the Iowa River Landing, the future site of the arena.

Coral Ridge Avenue from Oakdale Boulevard and West Forever Green Road will see road construction over the same time frame.

Hayworth added that the two construction zones will have at least two lanes open for a majority of the time. There will be a period in late 2018 where there will be a detour for Coral Ridge for a complete road closure.

Though most of the work will be done in 2018, Hayworth said, finishing touches such as landscaping will not be finished until early 2019.

UI's College of Pharmacy Building

Quadrangle Residence Hall, built in 1919 and 1920, was razed during the summer of 2016 to make way for UI's new College of Pharmacy Building.

Construction started on the building in March 2017, according to UI's Campus Master Plan. The building is well on its way to completion, with the main skeleton of the structure already completed. Those curious can check on construction by checking UI webcams looking out over the construction site at 180 S. Grand Ave. In total, construction of the 309,756 gross square feet building will cost $83 million.

Completion of the projected is slated for July of 2019.

UI's Psychological and Brain Sciences Building

Soon, the University of Iowa's historic Seashore Hall will be no more. The partial demolition of the building that has stood near the corner of Iowa Avenue and North Gilbert Street since 1899 is slated for the coming weeks in order to make way for a new home for UI's Psychological and Brain Sciences department.

Once the three-story brick structure that stands next to the parking lot at the intersection of Gilbert and Iowa is knocked down, construction of the new 58,400-gross-square-foot, $33.5 million facility will begin.

Completion for the building is not expected until summer of 2019, but a large chunk of demolition and construction will take place in 2018.

The last vestige of Seashore Hall will not be demolished until construction of the new facility is finished.

UI's Museum of Art

A new Museum of Art for UI has been in the works ever since the 2008 flood. Water forced the university to move its nearly $500 million art collection from the former riverfront museum to higher ground.

Construction of the UI Stanley Museum of Art is finally slated to begin in 2018. The $50 million, 52,000-square-foot project is set to be built where a parking lot just south of the UI Main Library, 125 W. Washington St., now stands.

The museum gained the Stanley name after it was announced in early December that Richard and Mary Jo Stanley of Muscatine had donated $10 million toward the project.

The projected $50 million cost for the project breaks down to $38.8 million for construction, $6.3 million for planning and design, $3 million for contingency and $1.9 million for furniture and equipment.

Completion of the museum's construction is slated for 2020.

Kinnick north stands renovation

No, they're not building a new football stadium, but the renovations to the north side of Kinnick Stadium do cost more than any other current UI construction project: $89 million.

A lot will be done with the money: The renovated space will feature upper and lower general admission seating, concourses, a premium club level and more. It would be the first multi-tiered portion of Kinnick, which was originally built in 1929. The north stands were originally constructed, and have been unchanged, since 1983.

The renovations started in 2017, and are not slated to be completed until summer 2019.

Reach Zach Berg at 319-887-5412, zberg@press-citizen.com or follow him on Twitter at @ZacharyBerg. Reach Andy Davis at 319-887-5404 or at aldavis@press-citizen.com, and follow him on Twitter as @BylineAndyDavis.