In August 2006, the Cedar Rapids City Council, in cooperation and coordination with Linn County, Downtown District, Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District, and the Chamber of Commerce, commissioned a downtown development plan that incorporates elements of past plans into a single common Downtown Vision. In May 2007, JLG Architects presented the Cedar Rapids community with the Vision Cedar Rapids Downtown Framework Plan. The result of eight months of work by the Vision Cedar Rapids Committee, the Plan represents an extensive analysis and visioning process of the downtown area.

The Vision Cedar Rapids Downtown Framework Plan made recommendations for various elements of downtown. The Cedar Rapids City Council approved the Downtown Area Plan in October 2007.

• Downtown Framework Plan

June 26, 2007 Open House
The Downtown Area Plan was presented to the community at a June 26, 2007 Open House. The information presented to citizens attending the open house, and feedback received is provided here.

• June 26, 2007 Open House Presentation Boards (PDF, 1.9Mb)
• June 26, 2007 Feedback:
  Individual responses - 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 .
  All responses in one document.

Downtown Area Plan Task Forces
Seven key implementation area task forces were developed and members include City staff from Community Development, Public Works, Utilities, Parks and Recreation, the Downtown District, as well as several other volunteer professionals from the community. Those areas are:

1. River walk/Linear Park
2. Transportation/Downtown Streets
3. Downtown Housing
4. Events Place
5. Ground Transportation Center / Intermodal Transportation Facility
6. Events Center, and
7. Railroad Issues.

These implementation task forces have been directed by the City Council to pursue implementation plans and to bring to the City Council manageable decision-making points that will allow them to continue to pursue results. The teams are following the Balanced Decision Process model. Contact information for these Task Forces is located here: Implementation Task Forces

November 15, 2007 Open House
An open house was held for the public on November 15, 2007 to provide an opportunity for the public to review and comment on the implementation work accomplished to date, including options being developed for evaluation. The information presented to citizens attending the open house, and feedback received is provided here.

• November 15, 2007 Open House Presentation Boards:
  - all boards (large file size) PDF: 24Mb
  - boards part 1 PDF: 4.5Mb
  - boards part 2 PDF: 5.5Mb
  - boards part 3 PDF: 5.6Mb
  - boards part 4 PDF: 7.2Mb
• November 15, 2007 Feedback
  Individual responses: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. All responses in 1 document (4.2Mb)
  
  

Next Steps
The City Council will be hearing from the implementation task forces regularly regarding progress and opportunities for decision-making points. A third open house is targeted to be held in summer 2008 to present options and recommendations.

For more information about the Downtown Area Plan, please contact Christine Butterfield, Community Development Director, Phone: (319) 286-5045, or by Email: c.butterfield@cedar-rapids.org

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