Making Downtown Your Neighborhood
Cedar Rapids Downtown District President/CEO Doug Neumann presided as master of ceremonies at the grand reopening of the Roosevelt Lofts on October 6, 2010, in Downtown Cedar Rapids. His introductory comments focused on the need for more downtown housing options and on celebrating the success of the Roosevelt project.
Good morning and welcome to Downtown Cedar Rapids on this glorious fall day. Days like this are sometimes referred to as Chamber of Commerce Days, but since I’ve got the podium, I’m going to declare it a Downtown District Day instead.
It is a great day for Downtown Cedar Rapids. This is among the first of what will be many, many ribbon-cuttings in a downtown that’s in the midst of having a $1 billion infusion of capital investment following the Flood of 2008. When you think about the recessionary times in which this activity is all taking place, that’s simply extraordinary and certainly unprecedented in the history of this community. We are not merely restoring the downtown that existed; we are transforming it into a new, more vibrant city center that will have benefits enjoyed for generations.
This is one of the first major projects finished post-flood because – like another completed project right across the street at Theatre Cedar Rapids – it was well into planning stages even before the flood. Back then, tremendous effort was focused on creating new housing opportunities and livening up the riverfront. The housing initiative was part of a Downtown Vision Plan that mapped a future that had policymakers, investors and downtown stakeholder unified and motivated.
Then came a little distraction in June of 2008 that now ranks, in economic measures, as one of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.
Although much flood recovery continues, we are overdue to bring back that focus on downtown housing. This is a great downtown in so many ways. It’s the largest employment base in Cedar Rapids. It’s clean. It’s safe. It’s beautiful. It’s a dining and nightlife hub with 41 non-chain, family owned unique bars and restaurants, all within walkable distance of right here. Downtown is the cultural and entertainment hub, as well, with most of the community’s major museums and entertainment venues. It’s a business incubator, with many entrepreneurial companies getting their start in downtown. And soon the heart of local government will be returned to the core as well.
But by any measure, to be a complete, dynamic and truly great downtown, we need to have people living here, walking to work, enjoying the amenities, using the services…. making it their neighborhood. We’ve lacked that in Downtown Cedar Rapids. We know people want to live downtown… the market demand exists. But for a variety of reasons, we simply have lagged in our efforts to convert spaces like this and to build new residential opportunities.
That’s what makes today such an important day. Welcome to downtown, all new residents of the Roosevelt, and congratulations to all involved in making this happen.
For further details on the Roosevelt, visit sherman-associates.com/theroosevelt.
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