Local Group Looking at Project with Hotels, Restaurant at Gateway Off-Ramp to Iowa City

An Iowa City man has been working for 17 years to buy a collection of properties on the southwest corner of the Dubuque Street exit of Interstate 80.

He had a vision of redeveloping the land, about 72 acres, at the gateway to Iowa City. His vision includes a five-star hotel, a mid-range hotel with extended stay, a sit down restaurant, retail store, office space and up to 500 housing units (mostly condos and rentals ranging from affordable to high end).

Ed Cole, 44, is now ready to get the ball rolling. 

"We want to make this a classy off-ramp," Cole said. "Something Iowa City can be proud of at our front door, and something that serves the community."

The project would cost about $60 million to $70 million, and Cole estimates it would generate more than $2 million a year in tax revenue. A request for tax increment financing could enter in the equation.

The property makes an "L" shape along the west side of Dubuque Street, north of Foster Road, and then extends west along Interstate 80, stopping near the new development along Mackinaw Drive. Check out the aerial photos attached to the article. 

In all, Cole reassembled 10 lots (he is in the later stages of negotiations for two final lots that would be part of following phases of his project). These lots were last assembled as one 157 years ago, when the federal government split them and sold them, he said.

Cole said he has been having conversations with city officials for more than two years as he has worked towards a plan. He expects to submit an official application to the city's planning department by the end of the month, he said. 

The project would ultimately need to gain approval from the , but early signs from officials are positive.

"That street has always been viewed as an important entry into the city," said . "They want to enhance it, not detract from it."

Markus went on to describe plans for a top flight hotel as "very desirable." But, it's far from a guarantee this will happen, given consideration to rezoning needs, environmental factors and fluctuations in the marketplace, he said.

"We can ask and we can want for a lot of those," Markus said. "It depends on what the marketplace will bear."

Cole said he hopes the first phase, which would include the five-star hotel, restaurant, a retail store and some residential units would be complete by mid-2015 around the same time the project to elevate Dubuque Street should be finished.

The first phase would face Dubuque Street, and would require a new access road to the area be built. Markus said, given that Foster Road was closed down during the 2008 flood and people that live in that area were stranded, a second access road would be a positive.

Later phases of the project, would extend westward, with the neon-lit properties facing the interstate. But, the Dubuque Street facing properties would be more subdued and would not detract from the entry views into the city, which include the river, and , Cole said.

"That view down the river is really crucial to the city planners and the university," said Ryan O'Leary, a local real estate agent who is involved with the project. 

Cole's daughter, Larissa Cole, who is also a real estate agent, is involved in the project.

A potentially sticking point of the project could come in one of the later phases. The long-term vision would require tearing down Forest View Trailer Court, which Cole owns and operates. About 350 people live there.

Cole said one of his linchpins, and the reason he hasn't sold the land to previous suitors, is providing a fair transition plan for his tenants.

"We've had multiple offers on the entire thing fall through because of the time frame they wanted to give the mobile home tenants to get out," Larissa Cole said.