Yiannis, N., vacate Congress CrKEY CITY INVESTMENT CO. An owa Corporation
P.O. Box 3127 DUBUQUE, IOWA 52004-3127
Phone (319) 583-6101 Fax (319) 583-5004
October 10, 2001
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City Hall
City of Dubuque
50 W. 13t~ Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I previously submitted a request to the Public Works Department to vacate Congress Circle
Street. Public Works secured an appraisal that is flawed on several points, as indicated in the
attached letter.
The appraisal of $55,000.00 makes it impossible to structure an agreement that is acceptable to
my company and any prospective tenant I may have.
I request the opportunity to appear at the City Council meeting Monday, October 15, to discuss
the appropriateness of the appraisal of value.
Truly yours,
Key City Investment Co.
N.J. Yiannias, President
October 6, 2001
Mr. Michael A. Koch
Public Works Director
City Hall
50 West 13t~ Street
Dubuque, IA 52004-4864
Re: Congress Circle Right-of-Way
Dear Mr. Koch4
Thank you for your letter advising me of the estimated value of $55,000.00 for vacated Congress
Circle. At my request your office sent me a copy of this appraisal.
My purpose in seeking to acquire this short street to nowhere is to put it to the best use for the
adjacent two lots fi-onting on JFK Road. In addition to leasing the vacant bank site formerly
occupied by Firstar Bank, a commercial building that will cost in excess of $1,000,000.00 is
proposed for the vacant lot to the south.
This can be a win-win situation for the City and Key City Investment Co.
These developments will: 1. Add a multi-million dollar value to the real estate tax base in an important commercial area
of the city.
2. Put to the best use two acres that have been vacant for over a year.
3. Provide substantial sales tax revenues to the City.
4. Provide valuable commemial services to the citizens of Dubuque and surrounding area and
add to the retail sales base.
5. Enable the City to divest itself of unproductive maintenance and' repairs for a street that is
not used by the public because it leads to a dead end.
The appraisal states on page 37 that the parcel is small for commercial sites in the area (11,964
square feet) and proceeds to compare it with areas rang/ng up to 120,000 square feet, most of
which are not even near this location. The appraisal falls to mention that its configuratiOn, 239
feet long by 50 feet wide, makes it impossible to utilize for commercial purposes. Examples of
permitted uses allowed by C-3 zoning are a furniture store, an indoor theatre, a lumberyard, full-
service car wash, mortuary, etc., all on less than 12,000 square feet! Patently ridiculous. As a
stand-alone commercial site this parcel is very obviously useless.
On page 38 the appraisal states "them is one nearby parcel that has residential development
potential. This lot is located directly behind the subject to the west." This one acre parcel, owned
by Key City, is approximately 22 feet below the level of Congress Circle Street and compr/ses a
flood plain that is, essentially, a large catch-basin for much of the area of the city west of JFK
Road and is absolutely unbuildable. So much for the reliability of that assertion.
The truth of the matter is that most of this voluminous "appraisal" is totally irrelevant to the
value of Congress Circle Street. I fail to see what the Merchants Hotel, Captive Plastics in Peosta
and the shortage of elderly housing have to do with 1785 and 1805 JFK Road.
By way of information, Key City Investment Co. and its predecessor, James N. Yiannias, have
been in business in Dubuque since 1915. Key City was a pioneer in the development of west
Dubuque, locating businesses here before Kennedy Mall.
Key City was a co-donor of Kennedy Road itself, graded it to its present elevation by moving
300,000 cubic yards of earth, and, along with Bird Chevrolet, constructed a water main from
Pennsylvania Avenue at our expense to serve his area.
Key City paid for most of the construction of JFK Road between Wilson Bros. D6dge and Long
John Silver, (paved in concrete at the insistence of the City, while J-FK Road north of
Pennsylvania was paved in cheaper asphalt paid for totally bY the City) and one-half of Wacker
Drive adjacent to Kennedy Mall.
We continu, e to be good citizens working for progress in Dubuque.
I look forward to discussing Congress Circle further at our n~eeting this Wednesday at 2 PM. If
you would have an opening before then, please call me as time is of the essence.
Truly yo~gs,
Key City Investment Co.
N.J. Yiannias, President
Cc: Michael VanMilligen
City Manager