Iowa City considering Pagliai's Pizza building as historic landmark, but landlord objects

The home of a local pizza icon is being considered for historic landmark designation despite the building owner's pleas to abandon the campaign.

The Iowa City City Council on Tuesday, April 2 chose to consult with the Planning and Zoning Commission before adding a historic preservation overlay district to 302-316 Bloomington Street.

The address is home to Pagliai’s Pizza, several apartments, and a laundromat.

City staff and the Historic Preservation Commission Chair cited the property’s long-standing, integral presence in the northside neighborhood. They also referenced the structure's "unique character" and "one-of-a-kind architecture."

E. Bloomington property is nearly 150 years old

First built in 1875, the primary building at 302. E. Bloomington Street was used for a Czech dance club. The adjacent laundromat was initially a horse stable. The building's interior was renovated through the years into an apartment-type building that also included a market.

The building and laundromat are considered one property and would be rezoned under the historic preservation district designation.

Pagliai’s Pizza opened in 1969 and eventually became its most iconic tenant, having served residents for more than 50 years.

Building owner Gary Skarda put the E. Bloomington property up for sale for $5 million in October 2023.

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Teague, Salih have minor concerns, shelving vote

The April 2 council meeting was met with broad community support for the building. A group of people passed out stickers that urged the council to “Save the Pagliai’s Building.”

Building owner Gary Skarda filed a protest of the commission’s historic landmark recommendation just hours before the council meeting, meaning a “supermajority” of the council, six of the seven members, would need to approve the historic designation. A typical, uncontested vote would require only a simple majority of four councilors.

Councilor Laura Bergus was absent at Tuesday’s meeting and thus, a unanimous vote was needed.

Skarda believes a historic landmark designation would make the building more difficult to sell.

A protective rezoning would force owners to consult the Historic Preservation Commission before making physical changes to the building.

Mayor pro-tem Mazahir Salih was also hesitant to designate the building as a landmark, saying the city wasn't offering owners enough help to maintain historic buildings.

Historic Preservation Commission Chair Jordan Sellgren and planner Jessica Bristow refuted Salih's claims, noting that federal and state tax credits provide financial aid to owners. The credits account for roughly 45% of the cost of repairs and upkeep on historic properties.

Salih believes Iowa City should help owners with the other 55%. Bristow said the city does provide some assistance through its “frequently” utilized historic preservation fund.

“I’m not against (historic preservation), this is a beautiful building, we need to keep it,” Salih said. “There are many of them; we need to keep them, too. But my problem is that when the city does something, we need to do extra to (help) the person who owns the building.”

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Owner makes his case, needing only one uncertain councilor to stonewall designation

Planning and Zoning Commission members were informed that Skarda was against the historic landmark designation at their Feburary meeting.

Skarda attempted to sway the Iowa City City Council on Tuesday, needing one uncertain vote to pause the redesignation process.

Skarda is a fifth-generation owner of the E. Bloomington property. He said he can no longer keep up with building maintenance due to old age and physical limitations.

“If I get the money I certainly think I should get, then I have to sell it to a developer,” Skarda said. “You’re not going to be able to develop that zone if it’s put on the historic registry.”

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Skarda said he believes the sale and site development would benefit himself and the city, citing the area’s need for housing and additional property tax revenue.

He chastised Iowa City, saying it was a “joke” that the city’s elected officials and council-appointed members of the Historic Preservation Commission were trying to limit what he could do with his property.

“There is no reason to inhibit growth of this community based on a building that takes a lot of maintenance,” Skarda said.

The council will make a final decision on 302-316 E. Bloomington's historic landmark designation at its next meeting on April 16.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City waits to designate Pagliai's building as a historic landmark