Coram Deo Academy seeks rezoning to convert former AT&T call center into K–12 campus

At a July 15 meeting of the Plan and Zone Commission, city planning staff held a public hearing on REZ25-04, a request by Coram Deo Academy to rezone 5348 Elmore Circle (about 10.72 acres) from C-3 General Commercial to IC Institutional Campus to convert a former AT&T call center into a K–12 school campus.

The rezoning matter matters because the school proposes a campus with a potential capacity of 500 students in a commercial corridor adjacent to residential neighborhoods; the request triggers increased public notice and may affect liquor-license reviews for nearby commercial properties.

Planning staff (Matt) told commissioners the site contains the former AT&T call center — roughly 75,000 square feet — with 578 existing parking spaces and two access points on Elmore Circle. The applicant has submitted a master plan to repurpose the existing building with no new building additions proposed. Staff said the academy hopes to open the new campus in 2026 and that the school component was established in 2020. Matt said the site’s current zoning (C-3) prohibits primary and secondary schools and that the Institutional Campus (IC) district is intended to accommodate colleges, school districts and similar institutions.

Grady Atkins, introduced himself as superintendent of Coram Deo Academy and executive pastor at Coram Deo Bible Church, and said, “Our plan with this school is to do similar to what we have done with the church and just be a good community partner and be a good neighbor and to bring in good citizens in a great city.” Atkins told the commission the academy currently enrolls about 180 students and is under contract on the Elmore Circle property. He said the school’s preliminary design target is 500 students, with an initial enrollment goal around 300 students in 2026.

Atkins and staff said the academy does not plan to operate a bus system; drop-off is anticipated weekdays about 8:15–8:30 a.m., pick-up Monday–Thursday about 2:45 p.m. and Friday at 12:45 p.m. Staff noted the school estimates roughly 2.5 students per vehicle for drop-off/pickup, which the applicant translated to about 120 cars at a projected 300 students.

Several commissioners and residents raised traffic and circulation concerns. Commissioner Schneider asked about capacity; Commissioner Schilling and others pressed how queuing would be handled so vehicles would not back up onto Elmore Circle or the 50 Third corridor. Laura (city traffic/engineering staff) said traffic engineering is engaged and that the intersection at 50 Third and Elmore Circle was designed for a specific capacity; at full campus occupancy, the signal might require alterations — possibly a protected left-turn phase — and she said she would follow up specifically about Elmore Circle.

Nearby property owners and agents spoke during public comment. Patrick Weber, whose family owns adjacent BTS Farm Parcel A, said his family supports adaptive reuse but requested that their parcel be exempted from the city’s liquor-distance restriction; he asked the commission to consider restrictive-covenant-style protections to preserve future marketability. Jeff Hoyer, a listing agent with Hawkeye Commercial Real Estate, raised questions about whether the rezoning could be challenged as spot zoning, asked staff to address comprehensive-plan consistency and asked whether stormwater detention, site lighting and design-review standards triggered by the 2019 zoning update would apply to the rehab. Hoyer said, “I just don’t think this is the right use for it, to be quite honest with you,” while also acknowledging the need to reuse the building. Thaden Hartog, owner of two shopping centers at Elmore and 50 Third, spoke in favor of the reuse and said the site’s parking and ingress/egress make it a reasonable location for a school.

Commissioners asked staff to clarify several items at the next hearing: the local 600-foot liquor-distance rule (staff said it is a local property-line-to-property-line requirement and that grocery stores are exempt), whether the 600-foot separation would apply to the owner’s additional 30+ acre parcel to the north if the campus footprint expanded (staff said an expansion would require an amendment to the master plan and would be clarified), the city’s historical pattern of institution siting on major corridors, the number and frequency of liquor-waiver applications, and the amount of property tax revenue the AT&T site currently generates (staff agreed to add that to the report).

No action on REZ25-04 was taken at the July 15 meeting. The public hearing was closed; Matt told the commission staff will return to the August 5 Plan and Zone Commission meeting with a recommendation and the commission will vote at that time.

Details and next steps: staff said public notification for rezonings to IC was increased from 200 feet to 500 feet, a public notice appeared in the Quad-City Times, and staff had received one written opposition and one written inquiry at the time of the hearing. Traffic engineering will prepare follow-up analysis and staff will add clarifications about liquor-license scope and current property tax figures to the August 5 staff report.