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Cedar Rapids, Iowa, just to the east of Des Moines, is a religiously diverse community of over 120,000. It has the second largest population of any city in Iowa. It’s known for its two four-year colleges, diverse culture, fine museums, and being the so-called “City of Five Seasons.” Five Seasons symbols can even be found proudly displayed on properties throughout the city. In a sad turn of events, in June, 2008 the Cedar River flooded the city of Cedar Rapids and devastated 7,000 pieces of land including over 5,000 residential properties. This will be important in planning your investment strategy. Cedar Rapids is divided into four main areas, the NE, NW, SE, and SW plus Mays Island where many civic buildings are located. And its downtown area is really an investor’s dream. After the flood, the city reacted swiftly by hiring a company to help recover the community. The Cedar Rapids Council had also previously spent eight months putting together a plan to give the downtown a make-over. The River Corridor Redevelopment plan focused on remaking the downtown area in a big way. While the new flood plan is currently taking precedence, seven main areas had already been placed under the direction of task forces: the River walk, and Linear Park, the downtown streets and housing, the Events Place, the Ground Transportation Center, the Events Center, and the area’s transportation, providing for a true “renaissance.” For more information about the project, you can refer to http://www.cedar-rapids.org/community/documents/downtown/Vision_Executive_Summary.pdf To avoid confusion as to what areas are still being considered for extensive revitalization, and which have been added since the flood it is best to contact the city itself and do your due diligence. If you are considering investing or relocating, you should also investigate the property you are interested in to see if it has been impacted in any way. Cedar Rapids is a revitalization project in the making, so be sure to check out your investment options.
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