Two Tenants Confirmed for the Harper and McIntire Building
Two tenants will find their home in the Harper and McIntire building, according to the Corridor Business Journal. The former warehouse building sits at 411 6th Ave SE, between downtown Cedar Rapids and New Bohemia. Foth Engineering, a national firm with locations across the country, is building out a 6,960 square foot office space. A Crossfit gym will occupy 3,000 square feet.
According to the Corridor Business Journal, the offices for Foth Engineering will include a lobby, conference rooms, printing room, and open office area. The Crossfit gym will include the gym area and locker rooms.
The development company is SLE Investments, owned by Steve Emerson. Emerson has successfully redeveloped numerous properties downtown, including the Smulekoff furniture building. The Harper and McIntire building was used as a Smulekoff warehouse from 1981–2014 and is being redeveloped as a separate project. In June, the state awarded $3,489,332 in Historic Tax Preservation Tax Credits to the Harper and McIntire project.
At the time, Emerson told the Gazette the building was half leased and that the first tenants would move in in “about nine months”. It would appear that schedule is on track.
Emerson is one of Cedar Rapids’ most ambitious developers and has already successfully redeveloped numerous downtown properties. He is negotiating a deal with the City of Cedar Rapids to develop a 25-story highrise only five blocks away from this location.
The Harper and McIntire building was constructed in 1922 and designed by Minneapolis architecture firm Croft and Boerner. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
