New owner of former Transamerica site open to redevelopment ideas

The new owner of the former Transamerica site in northeast Cedar Rapids says that while he doesn’t have specific plans for the property, he plans to pursue a “quality development that the community can be proud of.” Kerry Panozzo, a real estate agent for HomeSmart Residential and Commercial Realty, said his company purchased the 51-acre site at 4415 N. River Blvd. NE in an online auction that closed June 22. After clearing escrow, the purchase was finalized July 21 for a total cost of $7.02 million, according to records from the Cedar Rapids Assessor’s Office. Signs have been posted around the site indicating it’s available for redevelopment. Mr. Panozzo said he’s open to a variety of proposals from interested developers. “Basically, we want to see what the sentiment for the community is,  in regards to what uses people would want, and go from there,” Mr. Panozzo said. “We want to work with the neighbors, the city and all involved parties to find something that works for everybody and is a plus for the local community.”

The site was largely vacated when Transamerica moved its Cedar Rapids operations to the former Hibu site in southwest Cedar Rapids, a process that began in 2016 and continued gradually for several years. A number of older office buildings on the River Boulevard property were demolished in 2021, but three structures remain, including a pair of 100,000-square-foot Class A office buildings, constructed in 1994, and a 14,000-square-foot former daycare facility. Mr. Panozzo said his initial plans involve repurposing the two office buildings as multi-tenant office or professional spaces. Each of the two buildings, which will now be known as the Edgewood Pointe towers, is five floors, with 15,000 square feet of space per floor. Mr. Panozzo said he’d be open to dividing the floors into units as small as 3,000 square feet or as large as 15,000 square feet, depending on tenants’ needs. “We want to revitalize those buildings,” he said. “They’re just spectacular, and they're really in nice shape.” Mr. Panozzo said the first tenant in the towers will be a new Cedar Rapids branch of HomeSmart, which is based in Arizona and currently has an Iowa branch in Davenport. Another potential tenant is interested in locating in the Edgewood Pointe towers, but Mr. Panozzo said he wasn’t yet prepared to unveil specifics of those plans. He said the former Transamerica site is his company’s first development venture in Cedar Rapids, and that as a longtime real estate developer, he was attracted to the site because of the area’s rapid growth in recent years, including developments such as Randy Kuehl Honda, Fleet Farm and the Hilton Garden Inn. “That land hasn’t seen anything but Transamerica for 50 years,” he said. “With Highway 100 being completed, this is a great opportunity to bring a quality product to the community. We want to repurpose that land and really make something really special (in a high-growth area).” The property was under contract to purchase on two occasions in the past year – first by Hunter Companies, then by Edgewood West, a group of local investors. The deals fell through on both occasions. The property is zoned for flexible development, including commercial offices, retail, residential, parks, walking trails and sports courts. Redevelopment could include a mix of retail, office and single-family or multi-family residential components. Since the property was originally listed for sale, a group of neighboring property owners have voiced interest in the plans for the site, including attending rezoning meetings. They’ve organized a Facebook group and continue to seek input from area residents.