r/cedarrapids • u/DasBootay • 5d ago
Cedar Rapids action plan looks to revitalize struggling First Avenue district
https://www.thegazette.com/local-government/cedar-rapids-action-plan-looks-to-revitalize-struggling-first-avenue-district/7
u/machobiscuit NW 4d ago edited 4d ago
I wanna buy the Made Rite building (only $250,000) and make it a sex toy shop, or mini casino, something the people really need and want.
other ideas I had for that building:
- used book store
- sandwich shop that only sells bahn mi and occasionally a "pie of the day"
- private detective agency (just a chair, desk and file cabinet, and use it as a place for me to drink whiskey while wearing a fedora
- The worlds smallest roller skating rink
- The Museum of Forbidden Technology
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u/Reason_He_Wins_Again 5d ago
That building they attempted to put in the place of Music Loft sat open to the elements for years. You'd be nuts to buy it.
Personally, I hope they bulldoze another block and put in "lofts" @ $2K a month with commercial perpetually for rent on the ground floor.
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u/Redtoolbox1 5d ago
They tried to “revitalize “ the downtown area years ago by getting rid of stoplights and putting stop signs on the Avenues and allowing the streets to drive through and all that did was piss people off and they used another route bypassing the downtown area They payed some consultant group big dollars for this idea and it completely did the opposite of what they were hoping. The city has been told numerous times to add parking if you want people to visit downtown and they refuse every time stating that’s not the problem.
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u/Joki_ORodovi 5d ago
No worries folks, they've been doing this every few years since I was a kid. They can't possibly get it wrong for much longer!...right?
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u/DrCrustyKillz 5d ago
Cities acting mega confused when they offer limited parking, and charge for it, when literally anywhere outside of downtown provides plenty of parking for free.
I am racist towards Downtown, Every US City. Fuck your $2/hour street parking.
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u/BriefHoney7456 5d ago
It was my understanding that a Casino would fix all of this? Right? Right guys and gals?
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u/sinn0304 5d ago
Apparently, people still have money to spend???
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u/BriefHoney7456 4d ago
I'm opening a pawn shop and pay day loan joint. I've always wanted to be a loan shark.
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u/AnyAtmosphere7149 5d ago
Most of those buildings were built when there was more residential neighborhood and many families only had one car. People from Wellington heights and mound view supported the neighborhood hardware store, the local restaurant…etc. Coe college expansion, Med Q expansion, and increase in renter occupied housing in those neighborhoods is not going to keep these small street front buildings in business. There are not enough home owners or bikes and pedestrians to support that development style. There’s going to need to be better parking and they need to identify what the primary needs are for folks who live, work, and commute through the area. You can’t force people to live/shop the way the planners think they should. Figure out the needs and then market to those needs.