CEDAR FALLS -- The leasing office sits empty, and the land along State Street remains untouched.

More than a year after the Cedar Falls City Council approved plans for the mixed use Riverchase development downtown, nothing has been done.

Last week city staff members contacted Kansas-based Garrison Development to ask about the status of the project. The company responded it would have a new plan to send to the city soon.

Rob Wilkins, project manager for Garrison, said he expects an amended proposal will be provided to the city in the next two weeks.

Riverchase is proposed as a $32 million mixed development, with condominiums, apartments, retail shops and restaurants stretching through First and Fourth streets. The first phase of the project would be a pair of five-story condominium buildings along the Cedar River flood dike.

Part of Garrison's new proposal would substitute more apartments for some of the commercial space.

Wilkins said that move was in reaction to market demands.

"We still want to keep the urban feel, but we want to make sure due diligence is done on our part as far as the market," Wilkins said.

Plans approved by the city last spring called for 56 condominium units and 150,000 square feet of commercial space. At that time, Garrison had anticipated around 50 apartment units. Wilkins said the company is now looking at "in the neighborhood" of 50 more apartment units, but Garrison is still fine-tuning that number.

Garrison has been working through how to deal with soil quality and contamination issues on the site.

"For the past several months we have been looking at ways to lessen our costs in other areas and look at ways to deal with the soil issues," Wilkins said.

A former salvage business operated on part of the site, and contaminants leeched into the soil.

Garrison came to the city last fall saying problems with the soil would make building more expensive. The company wanted more money from the city.

City developmental services director Ron Gaines said the city staff and Garrison representatives joined in a conference call with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources regarding how to build on contaminated soil. The city and DNR set forth a number of options for dealing with the soil contamination years ago, and Gaines said those options have not changed.

"We didn't see the additional costs," he said.

Wilkins said the company was looking at ways to work with the added costs, but stopped short of saying it would ask the city for more incentive money.

The city had agreed to $7.6 million in tax reimbursements on the project over 10 years. A second agreement, to transfer land to Garrison for the project, has not been approved by the council.

Wilkins said the extent of the soil problems will not be fully assessed until buildings on the site are removed. Even if contamination issues are not great, Wilkins said, the company may have to deal with an unstable base. Trash several feet deep may still be layered underground. If so, any buildings would have to be secured to piers extending to more solid ground, increasing costs.

Gaines said the city looks forward to hearing back from Garrison soon.

"Hopefully they can either more forward with a project or walk away," said Gaines.

Either way, Gaines hopes there is some movement on development along State Street soon.

"We've had developers call us and say if they walk away, give us a call," Gaines said.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1461 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.