The historic Iowa River Power building has a new owner, and the city of Coralville is looking into the possibility of tax rebates to aid in its renovation.
At its Oct. 22 meeting, the city council passed a resolution that would approve an amendment to its urban renewal plan that would allow for the city to give tax rebates.
“There would still have to be a development agreement that would outline the rebates and the requirements for the rebates,” said city administrator Kelly Hayworth, in an email. The rebates would apply to anything over the current property tax bill, which is approximately $70,000, according to the Johnson County Assessor’s website.
A company with an Illinois address, Old Gold, LLC, bought the building for approximately $3 million. The address is associated with a Mark Kaufman, a University of Iowa alum and founder of Athletico Physical Therapy, which has nearly 1,000 locations in the U.S.
Council members discussed some of the proposed renovations, such as a glass front.
“They’re still working on their historic plan, but yeah, there’s a lot more glass involved in the frontage of the building, and they’ll be going back on some of the windows, replacing them. There [were] some, if you recall, that had been boarded up, and those will be opened up and replaced as well,” said Mr. Hayworth, at the Oct. 22 meeting, adding that the new owners were still working on the overall plan.
“That’s exciting, and I’m glad that structure is going to stay in our community,” said council member Royce Peterson.
The building, located at 501 1st Ave., housed the Iowa River Power Restaurant from 1977 to 2023. According a Gazette article, former owner Randy Ward served owners Danise and David Petsel with an eviction notice in August 2023. The restaurant’s last day was Nov. 26, 2023.
Attempts to reach the new owner of the building were unsuccessful.
