Cedar Rapids Planning Commission to Consider Plan for Former TransAmerica Site

A local contractor's plans are becoming more clear for a 52+-acre property in northeast Cedar Rapids, just weeks after some of the buildings at the site were taken down.

Things have moved quickly this year on the former Transamerica site, bordered by Edgewood Road and 42nd Street, on Cedar Rapids' northeast side. In March, we told you the six buildings and more than 50-acres of land that accompany them were for sale at a price tag of $20 million. In mid-May, we shared the news that several of the buildings would be demolished.

Hunter Companies of Cedar Rapids is under contract to purchase the site and, now that demolition is complete, wants to turn it into a mixed-use development. KCRG says the working name is "North River Center".

A preliminary plat from Hunter Companies shows the ponds would be removed, and that other building demolition appears likely.

The first image below shows the site before any buildings were taken down. It also shows several ponds and a wooded area would be removed, though Hunter Companies says the trees would have to be replaced.

The below shows six possible anchor-type sites along Edgewood Road, the smallest being 1.34 acres. In addition, it indicates a nearly 23-acre portion of the development on the southwest side of the property and another that encompasses 16.3 acres on the northern side.

The Highway 100 extension to the west of Cedar Rapids has spurred tons of development along the northern end of the Edgewood Road corridor in the last few years. Hunter Companies is hoping this spot becomes the next hot one, possibly for both commercial businesses and residences. The company will reveal its preliminary plans for the site to the Cedar Rapids Planning Commission on Thursday, October 28.