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Another arterial street linking Iowa City and Coralville and opening up a large amount of land for development is moving forward slowly with completion expected late next year.
The extension of Camp Cardinal Road between Highway 6 in Coralville and Melrose Avenue in Iowa City will open up development of as many as 3,500 homes. While road construction is expected to begin in the spring, advance work continues to move forward.
The two cities are in the process of awarding Connolly Construction of Peosta a contract for construction preparation that will get under way this year, officials said. Connolly bid $194,980 to clear trees and do other work in preparation for the road construction.
The road project has not been bid yet.
The total cost of the road project is about $6.3 million. The road will connect Highway 6 via 22nd Avenue to the existing Deer Creek Road intersection on Melorse Avenue in Iowa City.
The cities of Coralville and Iowa City and SouthGate Development will split the cost of the project. Estimates put SouthGate's construction costs at nearly $3.1 million, while Iowa City's costs are about $2.4 million and Coralville's about $837,000.
SouthGate controls about 350 of the 460 developable acres in the area and has plans to build up to 3,500 homes over a span of about 20 years, said Glenn Siders, construction manager for SouthGate.
The majority of the new development accessible from Camp Cardinal Road will be completed within five to 10 years, Siders said, with the remainder of the development dependent on the southern extension of Highway 965 sometime in the next 20 years.
Depending on how final plans come together, Siders said it is possible a subdivision could be at or near completion when the road opens.
The planned development caught the eye of the Iowa City school district because three-fourths of the housing in the plan would be in the Iowa City district. District officials are finalizing an agreement for land for a future elementary school site. The district will receive about 13 acres in exchange for paying some costs associated with construction of an access road to the school. District officials estimate those costs to be about $125,000.
"The size of this development dictates we will definitely need an elementary school there," said Iowa City school district Superintendent Lane Plugge, who noted construction is likely several years away.
"It's nice to have a site secure because now we can do long-term planning."
By Zack Kucharski
The Gazette
November 18, 2004 |
