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That could be good news for Raymond Scheetz, whose Clear Company Auto Body fronts East Ninth Street, a road that deadends into the hotel site and is envisioned to become a grand boulevard. The city bought all the land to the north.

"They're going to need my ground," Scheetz said, expecting he will get more from a private developer than what his neighbors received from the city.

Scheetz said he planned to sell within four years, regardless. But he might retire earlier if land values go high enough. His nearly one-acre parcel was assessed at $143,590.

A new look

Johnson County Auditor Bill Greazel said the entire area southeast of Interstate 80 and First Avenue will look vastly different in about two years as the city-funded, $60 million Marriott hotel is built. Along with the hotel, the area also is set to include a $15 million intermodal transportation center, a $180 million enclosed rain forest called The Environmental Project and privately developed retail shops, restaurants and residences.

According to county assessor documents, Coralville has bought more than 40 acres of commercial property in the area. About another 23 acres of commercial property remain in private hands near the development, including property between East Ninth Street and East Seventh Street and east of First Avenue.

Greazel said the rise in assessments, and therefore taxes, possibly could convince property owners to sell and move to less-expensive areas.

"That ground is going to be way too expensive to fix lawn mowers," Greazel said.

Rising values

In the land surrounding the properties purchased by Coralville, the average price per square foot has risen from $2.04 in 1995 to $4.97, according to county assessor documents. Greazel said those values could rise to between $16 and $25 per square foot, depending on location, in the next two years.

Assessments usually are done every odd-numbered year. But assessors, noting all the change taking place, decided this year to simply reuse 2003 values, Greazel said.

"It's an area in transition and there's no point expending the resources to value an area that's going to be completely different a year from today," he said.

The situation should be similar to what happened to land surrounding Coral Ridge Mall, he said, where values jumped from about $2 per square foot to about $19 per square foot of land after the mall was built.

"Just think of a $20 bill on every square foot of ground," Greazel said.

Greazel said it's too early to tell which property owners would benefit the most from the development. Those who sold to the city got a premium price, Greazel said, more than they would have gotten if they'd sold and the project didn't exist. But nearby property owners the city didn't buy from also can expect more for their property if they decide to sell.

"Either way, it's a win-win for the people down there," he said.

Who wins?

Wayne Grell, who owned enough land in the area to cover more than three football fields before the city bought it, said he thought those who were able to hold on to their properties would be able to get a better deal after the city projects were built."Do I feel like we got a good deal from the city?" he said. "No."

The city paid Grell $6.3 million for his properties. That included about $3.4 million for land and structures with the other $2.9 million going to relocation costs. With his buildings last assessed at about $2.4 million, Grell was paid about $3.92 per square foot of land. That's compared to an average assessed value for his properties in 2003 of $2.97 per square foot of land.

According to city and county assessor records, the city paid almost $27 million in land, building and relocation costs for commercial properties in the area. That's $14.4 million more than those properties' land and buildings were assessed at before the city bought them.

Chuck Meardon, an Iowa City lawyer who represented Grell and several other property owners in the area, said the biggest sting to those whose properties the city bought was having to move. But he thought that they were not necessarily losers in the development.

"Anybody who gets displaced is going to be bothered by it," Meardon said. "For what it's worth, (Coralville was) fair, in my opinion."

City Administrator Kelly Hayworth did not return phone calls Thursday and Friday.

Representatives of Holiday Wrecker and Iowa City Excavating & Grading Inc., both of which had to relocate after their land was purchased by Coralville, declined comment.