Following on the success of the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center, city staff is proposing a 700-acre park on the northeast corner of the intersection of Interstate 280 and West Locust Street.
City staff gave a presentation on the project, as well as proposed land uses at Elmore Avenue and Veterans Memorial Parkway, to aldermen and Mayor Frank Klipsch on Tuesday.
Less than 100 acres remain available at the current industrial park, at Interstate 80 and Northwest Boulevard as Kraft Heinz and Sterilite finish construction and prepare to open. The park took about 20 years to completely fill out, boosted by site certification that drew Kraft Heinz and Sterilite.
The targeted site at I-280 and West Locust would require infrastructure work to make it site certified as well as shovel-ready and attractive to prospective businesses. A recent study showed a sewer extension is required and sewer and roads installed in the park as well as land acquisition. The development cost, expected to be spaced out over several years, is $41 million.
The proposed land uses at Elmore and Veterans Memorial Parkway, dubbed Elmore Corners, includes an entertainment district adjacent to the Rhythm City, as well as mixed use commercial/residential, multi-family housing and expanded senior living opportunities.
The entertainment district at the northeast corner of Elmore and Veterans Memorial Parkway would include restaurants and retail with a possible music venue or waterpark resort.
A master plan development at the southeast corner of the intersection would include retail and restaurants along with residential housing in a walkable and pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.
A mixed use development southwest of the casino would provide for mixed use of multi-family residential and senior housing. It would have commercial development along the parkway and Elmore. It would be a buffer to single-family homes to the south.
The area west of the casino would be tabbed for office park options and transitional uses. It would have high visibility from Interstate 80. Elmore Avenue south of the parkway would have mixed use along the road and residential development along a greenway away from the road as it runs south.
The proposed land uses are put forth in an overlay district that is expected to be discussed at a neighborhood meeting later this month then go to Plan and Zoning Commission. Plan and Zoning would consideration the action in February. It would go to the City Council in March.