The Cedar Rapids City Council has approved financial support for a planned $5 million expansion project at Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing in southwest Cedar Rapids. The project will include a 32,000-square-foot expansion of the company’s 116,000-square-foot headquarters at 1345 76th Ave. SW, retaining 77 existing jobs and creating 12 new jobs, including three jobs at […]
The Cedar Rapids City Council has approved financial support for a planned $5 million expansion project at Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing in southwest Cedar Rapids.
The project will include a 32,000-square-foot expansion of the company’s 116,000-square-foot headquarters at 1345 76th Ave. SW, retaining 77 existing jobs and creating 12 new jobs, including three jobs at or above the state’s High-Quality Jobs wage threshold of $24.20 per hour.
The project qualifies for the city’s Community Benefit-Economic Development Program, based on the expansion of a local headquarters facility, city economic development coordinator Scott Mather told the council at its May 9 meeting.
The standard incentive for such projects is a 10-year, 50% reimbursement of increased taxes generated by the project. Based on the investment and estimated post-development value, the project is expected to generate $1 million in total taxes over a 10-year period, of which $380,000 would be rebated back to the company.
Geoff Franzenburg, commercial construction manager for Compass Commercial Services, spoke in support of Conveyor Engineering president Graig Cone and the project overall.
“Conveyor Engineering is a real Cedar Rapids success story,” Mr. Franzenburg said. “They work on a highly specialized list of products and equipment for a very impressive customer list. It's the right kind of jobs that I think the community needs.”
Founded in 1977,
Conveyor Engineering manufactures screw conveyors and mixers for a variety of industries.
Councilmember Scott Overland voiced his support for the Conveyor Engineering expansion plan.
“This is another longtime local company choosing to invest in Cedar Rapids and continue to expand their facility as well as the number of jobs that they provide,” Mr. Overland said. “As I've said before, we'll take these all day long, but I think it's a testament to our community when we see our local companies choosing to expand here.”
A formal development agreement for the project will be presented to the council in upcoming months.
The council also discussed two housing infill projects, approving a development agreement for a $620,000 project to build a single-family home and two accessory dwelling units at 922 NInth St. SE, slated for completion by December, and approving a resolution of support for a $4 million project that will bring a total of 15 new three-bedroom units in the 900 block of M Street SW and at 1213 M St. SW, set to begin construction in April 2024 and be completed by March 2026.
Council member Ann Poe said she favored the projects, but asked whether an alley proximate to the 15-unit development would be paved.
“I think this is a fun, wonderful project,” Ms. Poe said. “And congratulations to the developer for thinking outside the box and helping us provide that missing tooth in some of our housing. But I would really like the developer to let us know what the intention is for the alley and how that's going to be maintained, because that would make a big difference in the look of the entire development.”
Both projects qualify for a standard city incentive that will provide a 10-year, 100% rebate of the increased value generated by the projects. It's the first time the council has approved incentives for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), after the city council expanded ADU development standards in 2021.
