Commission backs land‑use change and three rezonings for former ACT campus to enable mixed housing and commercial reuse

The Iowa City Planning & Zoning Commission on July 16 recommended approving a comprehensive plan amendment and unanimously approved two rezonings tied to redevelopment of the former ACT campus, a package intended to allow mixed housing and commercial uses on about 57 acres south of Interstate 80 and east of North Dodge Street. "This is a public hearing on a proposed comprehensive plan amendment. It is for 57 acres of land that's located South Of I 80 and East Of North Dodge Street," said Anne Russett of Neighborhood and Development Services.

Commissioners and staff said the change responds to market and employment shifts since the city's IC 2030 plan was adopted in 2013, when the site was occupied by ACT and designated for office/research park use. Russett noted the campus once employed about 1,200 people in roughly 353,000 square feet; she said ACT currently has about 75 employees on site in about 54,000 square feet. "There has been a lot that has changed, since the comp plan was originally adopted," Russett said, and staff recommended the amendment to the future land use map to allow general commercial, mixed use and public/private open space on the 57‑acre area.

Why it matters: the amendment unlocks two rezoning requests that the applicant has filed for parts of the campus. Staff described three coordinated…