Iowa City Today

After 27 years of live music, large crowds, dancing, drinking and an overall good time, The Union Bar in Iowa City has served its last drink.

Jordan Strong was a bartender at The Union Bar for two years.

“When we had the group meeting where they said it’s closing, I thought it was an April Fools [joke]," Strong told The Daily Iowan. "The news kind of hit everyone at once.”

In 2017, the Minnesota-based Tailwind Group purchased the three story building that houses The Union Bar, and now they are turning it into a nine-story apartment building, according to The Daily Iowan.

The building was purchased for $2.9 million and includes the following addresses: 117 and 119 East College Street, and 121 and 123 East College Street, according to The Daily Iowan.

The Revival clothing store was also acquired by the group.  

The $65 million nine-story apartment complex will have 170 units ranging from studio apartments to two bedrooms and a two-level parking garage, according to The Daily Iowan.

The Tailwind Group asked the city for $9 million in tax-increment financing but they didn't qualify for TIF funding because the apartment complex goes above the six-story limit, according to The Daily Iowan.

The Tailwind Group has other housing developments around the city including The Quarters.

Brent Tunelius, a former bartender at The Union told The Daily Iowan, “Even if an apartment building goes there, that’s the heart of downtown. When I see that spot, I’ll always see Union.”