Comment on Cedar Rapids City Council backs plans to develop ‘Banjo Block’

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city’s long efforts to see a rebirth of the “Banjo Block,” a centrally located downtown property that has sat mostly vacant for years, took a major step forward Tuesday when the Cedar Rapids City Council backed plans from an Indiana developer to build a five-story complex there.The council approved a term sheet for Indianapolis-based TWG Development, which boasts a track record in Cedar Rapids, to build a $51 million mixed-use facility on the block at Fourth Avenue and Fifth Street SE, which is adjacent to the Cedar Rapids Public Library and Greene Square.