<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2jwR0N_1ABCtgnY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2jwR0N_1ABCtgnY00" width="1200" height="600" >CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Some offices in downtown Cedar Rapids have been collecting dust for years. Vacancy rates along the I-380 corridor have nearly doubled in the last four years.Piles of old keyboards, dust covering the floor and employee paperwork left abandoned for years fill the empty spaces. “It’s been hard. Everything that I’ve had empty from COVID is still empty,” said Steve Emerson, an architect and developer who owns several buildings in downtown Cedar Rapids.Four of Emerson’s buildings are vacant. He said new tenants never showed up after COVID.“Anything that was empty prior to COVID unfortunately hasn’t got any looks or any attention really at all,” Emerson said.Emerson now plans to use tax incentives and his own investments to turn three of his four vacant office buildings into apartments. He said he never planned to be an apartment developer, but the demand for housing is undeniable.“You can really see that there’s a need for it because it used to be that parking was impossible to find downtown. Now the only time you can’t find parking is when Theater Cedar Rapids or Paramount has an event going on,” Emerson said.Converting empty spaces into apartments isn’t simple or cheap. An owner like Emerson would need to put millions of dollars into the project up front without any quick way to get a return on the investment.“Like this building we’re in now has about a three, three and a half million dollar debt against it and it’s empty, so I’m paying that debt, now I’m going to gut it what it was and make it into apartments, put more money into it,” Emerson said.Emerson said he waited for years for businesses to reclaim office space. Dipping into the high demand for housing may be the solution for both him and the people who want to live downtown.</div></body>

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Some offices in downtown Cedar Rapids have been collecting dust for years. Vacancy rates along the I-380 corridor have nearly doubled in the last four years. Piles of old keyboards, dust covering the floor and employee paperwork left abandoned for years fill the empty spaces.

Empty downtown Cedar Rapids office spaces converting to apartments

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Some offices in downtown Cedar Rapids have been collecting dust for years. Vacancy rates along the I-380 corridor have nearly d

Empty downtown Cedar Rapids office spaces converting to apartments

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