{"id":2585,"date":"2023-11-14T15:19:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T15:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/?p=2585"},"modified":"2023-11-20T15:21:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T15:21:02","slug":"rv-center-commercial-self-storage-slated-for-i-380-interchange-near-swisher-ia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/rv-center-commercial-self-storage-slated-for-i-380-interchange-near-swisher-ia\/","title":{"rendered":"RV Center, Commercial Self-Storage Slated for I-380 Interchange Near Swisher, IA"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n

\"Grading
Grading equipment moves dirt Oct. 10 at a site east of Interstate 380 and north of 120th St. NE near Swisher. (Jim Slosiarek\/The Gazette)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Drivers traveling on Interstate 380 likely have noticed the grading equipment moving dirt at a site east of the interstate and north of 120th St. NE near Swisher.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Grading also has commenced to the west of the Swisher\/Shueyville exit off I-380, between the interstate and Highway 965, and north of 120th Street NW.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Developers are in the throes of prepping the land around the undeveloped interchange to make way for a new RV center and repair shop, a commercial self-storage business, and commercial buildings offering office, warehouse and shop space for contractors.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Curt Eilers, a commercial property owner and real estate developer with Venture Real Estate in Cedar Rapids, secured a conditional use permit from Johnson County to build a drive-up, commercial self-storage facility just east of I-380, north of the Swisher\/Shueyville exit.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It will be climate controlled, with RV and boat storage canopies on a 6-acre lot.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eilers also has applied to subdivide roughly 14 acres of the 20-acre farm property to the south of the storage facility to create four buildable lots for eventual sale or development. The application also calls for the creation of stormwater detention facilities and a new frontage road with access to 120th Street.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was poor farm ground,\u201d with a corn suitability rating, or CSR, of 47, Eilers said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A CSR rating of 65 or above typically indicates productive farmland with soil considered fertile ground for row crops.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I didn\u2019t feel too bad about taking it out of production,\u201d Eilers said. \u201cIt\u2019s right off the interstate. It\u2019s never going to be peaceful and quiet, and it\u2019s poor soil. So it seemed like a pretty prime candidate for commercial (development).\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Johnson County officials agreed, granting a zoning amendment to reclassify the property south of the planned self-storage facility from agricultural to light-industrial use.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a huge number of places in the county where light-industrial zoning is allowable,\u201d Johnson County Planner Joe Wilensky told The Gazette.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe location here is pretty good for that kind of use, with I-380 and a lot of paved roads in the area. It\u2019s a good spot for more commercial and more industrial uses than other, more rural parts of the county \u2014 which is reflected in the land use plan for that area.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wilensky noted property just to the west, on the other side of the interstate, is similarly zoned for commercial and light-industrial use.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good spot for more intense use,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eilers plans to put three 10,000- to 12,000-square-foot commercial buildings immediately to the south of the self-storage facility that offer office, warehouse and shop space available for contractors, electricians, plumbers, roofers and other skilled tradesmen to lease or rent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He said many contractors are searching for secure off-site storage for construction materials amid supply chain challenges. Many are buying their materials up front and\/or in bulk to alleviate problems of not having them when they need them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eilers said the property provides a convenient, centralized and easily accessible location for contractors and tradesmen to bring equipment and material to the job site from storage, be they working in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo or elsewhere in the region.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He said the self-storage building will be fenced and gated and have controlled access, video surveillance and \u201chigh security.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He said he intends to market the rest of the lots for build-to-suit commercial buildings.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He said the plans for the southern portion of the property, closer to 120th Street NE, are tentative, but early conceptual designs show the possibility of an indoor trampoline park.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still pretty fluid,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eilers said the land around the I-380 interchange is primed for the development of gas stations, restaurants, motels, event centers, dealerships, light manufacturing and warehouse, distribution and trucking services because of its visibility and accessibility to I-380, which is slated to be widened from 120th Street north through Wright Brothers Boulevard in Cedar Rapids.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

More than 90,000 people drive that section of Interstate 380 every day, according to Iowa Department of Transportation data.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd with more traffic coming on I-380 and all the development around The (Eastern Iowa) Airport and Wright Brothers Boulevard to the north and on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids,\u201d the corridor affords businesses added visibility and accessibility to existing and future customers, Eilers said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On the other (west) side of the interstate, work is underway to prepare for the construction of an RV center and truck repair shop.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Todd Phillip, president of Auto Truck Center in Cedar Rapids, plans to relocate to and combine the company\u2019s RV sales, service and repair business in a larger, more visible location at 2612 120th St. NW near Swisher.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The company, which sells fifth wheels, toy haulers and travel trailers from a number of manufacturers, operates a main sales lot and repair shop at 941 66th Ave SW in addition to a repair shop in Walford.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been in business for 45 years \u2026 and had problems with people knowing where we\u2019re at and who we are,\u201d Phillip said. \u201cIt will be so more advantageous to the business\u201d to be in a highly visible, highly traveled spot where it can consolidate operations to one location.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He said the company plans to build a 42,000-square-foot building, roughly twice the size of the company\u2019s current building.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

RV sales surged in 2020 amid pandemic travel limitations \u2014 providing the comfort of home with the benefits of the outdoors, with less of the stress, worry and cost of booking a flight and hotel room during COVID \u2014 and hit a record high in 2021.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While the industry\u2019s unprecedented pandemic boom has cooled, Phillip said retail demand remains steady.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSales have slowed. Interest rates caused some heartache, but not a lot,\u201d he said. \u201cI forecast a lot worse that what we have seen.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He said he anticipates a 30 percent increase in business due to the new location.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the growth there will be tremendous just by the fact that you\u2019re able to be seen my so many more people,\u201d Phillip said. \u201cWe had been a word-of-mouth operation for 45 years, with some advertising. It will be so more advantageous to the business.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He anticipates 10 to 15 jobs \u2014 ranging from RV technicians, to truck\/trailer technicians, salesperson and clerical staff \u2014 being added once the new location is up and running.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Phillip said he\u2019s hoping the new RV center and repair shop would open in late 2024 or early 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The development is the first planned on 60 acres located next to the I-380 interchange that was rezoned earlier this year from ag dwelling to highway commercial and light-industrial use.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Phillip said plans also call for construction of a gas station and convenience store at 120th Street and Highway 965 sometime in 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eilers, the Cedar Rapids real estate broker, said his plan is to begin constructing the frontage road east of the interstate and solicit bids to build the commercial self-storage facility this spring, and work his way to the south developing the rest of the property.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the next five, 10, 20 years, this whole corridor is going to be an economic engine for the area,\u201d Eilers said. \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Drivers traveling on Interstate 380 likely have noticed the grading equipment moving dirt at a site east of the interstate and north of 120th St. NE near Swisher. Grading also has commenced to the west of the Swisher\/Shueyville exit off I-380, between the interstate and Highway 965, and north of 120th Street NW. Developers are in the throes of prepping the land around the undeveloped interchange to make way for a new RV center and repair shop, a commercial self-storage business, and commercial buildings offering office, warehouse and shop…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2588,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585\/revisions\/2588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}