Rockwell Moves 400 Jobs Downtown
*These are comments made by Vanessa Solesbee, Operations Director of the Cedar Rapids Downtown District, and City Council Member, Kris Gulick.
Comments written by Vanessa Solesbee
"On behalf of the Downtown District staff and board of directors, it is my distinct pleasure to welcome Rockwell Collins to our downtown neighborhood. Beyond the obvious excitement that comes with the announcement that our City’s largest employer has made the decision to locate part of their business within downtown Cedar Rapids, today’s announcement is incredibly meaningful for the small, local businesses that call downtown home.
Convenient access to amenities is a unique perk that a downtown environment offers employees. With the recent additions of
Salsa del Rio and
La Cantina, downtown has the largest cluster of locally owned restaurants, coffee shops and nightlife establishments in our community. There are also a wide variety of other services easily within walking distance for downtown employees – our downtown tailors, several salons and spas, new fitness facilities, Hall Bicycle, studios offering the latest in yoga and pilates, and of course, our downtown retail anchor, Smulekoff’s.
When you look at what’s to come in the next couple of years with the renovation of the Events Center, completion of our new Federal Courthouse and re-opening of the historic Paramount Theatre, it is apparent that we are in the midst of a transformation that will define this community for generations. Today’s announcement also holds great significance for our downtown community because it is symbolic of how far we’ve come in the past two years. Rockwell Collins’ investment in a downtown presence is a forward-thinking investment in our entire community’s future.
On behalf of the Downtown District and our 120 partner organizations around the Corridor, I want to extend the warmest welcome to the newest member of our downtown neighborhood, Rockwell Collins. I also want to thank Mayor Ron Corbett and City Manager Jeff Pomeranz for their commitment to the revitalization of downtown. It takes tremendous leadership to execute on a community-wide vision, especially when it takes a bit of imagination to see not only where we are now but where we are headed."
Comments written by Kris Gulick
Rockwell Collins is making a major investment in downtown Cedar Rapids and we’re excited to welcome them to the neighborhood. This investment will have a major impact on everyone who lives and works in downtown. Rockwell Collins is bringing new life to the core of our community and we truly appreciate their support.
This is great news for downtown!
400 jobs is a significant boost to the revitalization of the downtown. Things like this don’t just happen overnight. I know I was walking around the basement of this building with Steve Emerson back in early October and I knew he was working on this at that time. Thanks to all of the parties involved, especially Rockwell and Steve Emerson who have worked on this deal to make it happen. Business decisions, and that is what this is, take some time. It is great to have one our largest employers in Rockwell have a presence in Downtown.
I think it is important to think about this from a broader perspective. Rockwell is making a business decision to locate downtown because it is good for their business. Management has shareholders that they have to be accountable to for running a successful business. Locating these 400 jobs downtown makes sense for the Rockwell team.
It is fortunate that at the same time it is tremendous boost to downtown. The important lesson here is that locating your business downtown is and can be a very good business decision. Rockwell is displaying that now.
This is just a start and with everything developing in the near future I suspect that there will be more to come.
Businesses need to take a hard look at downtown. The Downtown economy and market is on its way up. Business owners understand markets. All I can say is get in early. Thanks to Rockwell Collins for stepping up.