Editor's note: This is the third in a series of articles on new developments in Quad Cities-area downtowns.
LeClaire is a community that's trying to have it both ways, maintaining its quaint and historic character while fostering growth in its economy.
And so far, it looks like it might be succeeding. As the shopkeepers have banded together to support one another, a developer is undertaking three ambitious projects - including luxury apartments and an office building. The question is whether the traditional LeClaire - with its unique shopping and dining opportunities - can co-exist with the shiny new LeClaire promised by development.
That tension can be seen in the city's five-year strategic plan, which was updated last November. The first aim in the plan is to "preserve the historical character of the community," while the second is "expand the commercial/manufacturing tax base." (The city is targeting having a "light manufacturing entity within the community by July 1, 2006.")
Ed Choate, LeClaire's city manager, said the city council is aggressively promoting economic growth in the community. Choate also said the city's first-ever comprehensive plan - which he called "long overdue and much-needed" - should be finished by this November.
And there are big things afoot in LeClaire.
LeClaire is the process of being evaluated for a $1.3 million grant from the state's Community Attraction & Tourism (CAT) program - a precursor to the big-ticket Vision Iowa program. "Our grant has been scored favorably by the board," Choate said. That money would be part of $3.6 million in planned public spending on the levy, which would be used on infrastructure improvements as well as items such as streetscaping and landscaping, Choate said.
That might also be folded into a larger $25-million downtown project proposed by developer Bill Kuhlow through his Cody Road Development company. Kuhlow made a presentation to the city in early September, and the city council's committee of the whole discussed it at its meeting on Monday. Kuhlow said he wasn't yet willing to discuss the project in detail, but Choate said it would include townhomes, apartments, and several thousand square feet of new retail space.
Kuhlow, as director of development for Nebraska-based Perry Associates, is also involved in a 120-unit luxury-apartment complex scheduled to begin construction this month on the LeClaire bluff. The project should be ready for occupancy late next summer.
Through a third company, Kuhlow and another developer are working on a 50,000-square-foot Class A office building on more than six acres near the Mississippi Valley Welcome Center.
Kuhlow said his interest in LeClaire is twofold.
In terms of housing development, "I'm pretty high on the Quad Cities," he said. Kuhlow is also working on an apartment complex in north Davenport as well as a mixed-use development in Silvis. He said there has been little multi-family housing built in the area over the past two decades, and luxury apartments are well-suited to the area's changing demographics - with Baby Boomers moving into smaller homes, with some people having dual residences, and with the high number of transients in the community.
In that context, LeClaire is simply well-positioned in the larger community. "It's not because it's LeClaire," Kuhlow said. "It's the metro area."
The apartment project is part of a larger trend in LeClaire toward a diverse housing stock. "We're offering a greater variety," Choate said. "It didn't start out as a conscious effort. It's become a conscious effort." The city is considering annexing the Pebble Creek division, which would add 10 percent to its land area. The division will include a golf course and roughly 130 high-end homes.
Kuhlow also said the LeClaire community is poised for growth - and that's why he's interested in downtown development. "LeClaire is well-positioned to move to the next level," he said, primarily because of the city's attitude toward economic growth. "LeClaire is a progressive community, one that is developer-friendly."
Steve Rosetti, owner of The Faithful Pilot restaurant at 117 North Cody Road, said he supports Kuhlow's proposal for new downtown development. And Michael Hall, owner of the new Dwellings store at 127 North Cody Road, said the proposed developments are one of the reasons he's excited about doing business in LeClaire. His store, which has been open for two months, focuses on home décor, everything from dishes to accessories to candles to artwork. "The whole place is cleaning up," he said of LeClaire.
Some of the city's shopkeepers, though, seem hesitant to embrace the type of development that Kuhlow is trying to bring to the town.
Deb Willaredt, owner of Artswork at 317 North Cody Road, stressed the importance of "planned growth" and said she's wary of development that might exploit the city or its history. "You always have to be watchful," she said.
She notes that LeClaire has an opportunity to be like Galena, the quaint tourist destination to the north. But the community must foster niche shopping and turn away chain stores and cookie-cutter development. The city is "a beautiful river town with a history you can't buy," and it needs to maintain that, she said.
LeClaire is known most as the birthplace of "Buffalo Bill" Cody in 1846, but it was also the home of many river pilots and a booming business community in the mid-1800s, before Davenport developed as the commercial center of the Iowa Quad Cities.
Willaredt makes a distinction between improvements to the levy and new development, saying that the community should focus on making its riverfront area better. "The Mississippi River is the attraction we've got here," she said. What the community needs to guard against is urban sprawl, she said.
The shopkeepers in general are excited about what's happening in the city. Several new shops have opened in recent months, and the shopkeepers are working together - including meeting monthly for the past year and instituting a joint advertising arrangement.
"There's a tremendous sense of community that's starting to build among the shopkeepers," said Rosetti, who opened his restaurant 12 years ago, when LeClaire was "kind of like a ghost town."
Now, merchants are steering customers to other businesses. "There's a sense of support for one another," he said.
"There's strength in numbers," Willaredt said. Of the cooperative advertising campaign, she said, "It's good for my business to do that."
Willaredt's store is in its fourth year, offering hand-crafted works from around the world, ranging from wood items from Jakarta to pieces from local artists. Her products include glass, wood, fiber, textiles, and jewelry.
Willaredt said she chose to open in LeClaire because of its personality. "I loved the quaintness of the community," she said. She also likes that LeClaire businesses try to fill niches, with the attitude, "I want to be the only one like this."
The business owner said she's also excited about the new businesses that have opened. "Everything's just moving and shaking," she said.
One of the new businesses is the Giga Gallery, which has been open for about three months at 303 South Second Street. "I really like the people here," said Danielle Colby-Cushman, owner of Giga Gallery. "For a small town, they're very big-minded."
Giga started as a "place for kids to come and have a creative outlet," but it's grown, now featuring self-taught artists, other local artists, and gift items. She also cited the diversity of local merchants as a drawing card for the community. Consumers "go out of their way for something different," Colby-Cushman said.
She added that more people are moving to this area from Chicago, and they're used to stores that cater to sophisticated tastes. "It's a lifestyle thing," she said.
Colby-Cushman said LeClaire could still use more stores to attract people - a whole-foods business, more restaurants, and "more relaxing, enjoyable, fun things to bring people to LeClaire."
But she's also excited. "The momentum is here," she said. "We have to keep it going."
Another new business is Lydia's Bakery Café, which opened in late June at 201 North Cody Road in the former city-hall building. Owner Ken Bailey said he decided to open the store on a whim when his current location became available. "It just happened by accident," he said.
Bailey said LeClaire was attractive for several reasons: the diversity of products, the number of restaurants, and the way building owners take care of their historic properties. "There are a lot of great shop owners," he said. "Nice sites."
Hall said that he considered sites in the Village of East Davenport and on 53rd Street in Davenport for his Dwellings store, but he chose LeClaire. "I wanted a little more quaint atmosphere," he said.
LeClaire is moving ahead on two distinct paths, with small niche stores adding value to its downtown while the city and developers look to spend millions on new development. The city bears watching over the next few years, to see if LeClaire can balance the old and the new.
"The next three years are going to be really telling for that town," Rosetti said.
For more information on LeClaire, visit (http://www.leclaireiowa.org).
And so far, it looks like it might be succeeding. As the shopkeepers have banded together to support one another, a developer is undertaking three ambitious projects - including luxury apartments and an office building. The question is whether the traditional LeClaire - with its unique shopping and dining opportunities - can co-exist with the shiny new LeClaire promised by development.
That tension can be seen in the city's five-year strategic plan, which was updated last November. The first aim in the plan is to "preserve the historical character of the community," while the second is "expand the commercial/manufacturing tax base." (The city is targeting having a "light manufacturing entity within the community by July 1, 2006.")
Ed Choate, LeClaire's city manager, said the city council is aggressively promoting economic growth in the community. Choate also said the city's first-ever comprehensive plan - which he called "long overdue and much-needed" - should be finished by this November.
And there are big things afoot in LeClaire.
LeClaire is the process of being evaluated for a $1.3 million grant from the state's Community Attraction & Tourism (CAT) program - a precursor to the big-ticket Vision Iowa program. "Our grant has been scored favorably by the board," Choate said. That money would be part of $3.6 million in planned public spending on the levy, which would be used on infrastructure improvements as well as items such as streetscaping and landscaping, Choate said.
That might also be folded into a larger $25-million downtown project proposed by developer Bill Kuhlow through his Cody Road Development company. Kuhlow made a presentation to the city in early September, and the city council's committee of the whole discussed it at its meeting on Monday. Kuhlow said he wasn't yet willing to discuss the project in detail, but Choate said it would include townhomes, apartments, and several thousand square feet of new retail space.
Kuhlow, as director of development for Nebraska-based Perry Associates, is also involved in a 120-unit luxury-apartment complex scheduled to begin construction this month on the LeClaire bluff. The project should be ready for occupancy late next summer.
Through a third company, Kuhlow and another developer are working on a 50,000-square-foot Class A office building on more than six acres near the Mississippi Valley Welcome Center.
Kuhlow said his interest in LeClaire is twofold.
In terms of housing development, "I'm pretty high on the Quad Cities," he said. Kuhlow is also working on an apartment complex in north Davenport as well as a mixed-use development in Silvis. He said there has been little multi-family housing built in the area over the past two decades, and luxury apartments are well-suited to the area's changing demographics - with Baby Boomers moving into smaller homes, with some people having dual residences, and with the high number of transients in the community.
In that context, LeClaire is simply well-positioned in the larger community. "It's not because it's LeClaire," Kuhlow said. "It's the metro area."
The apartment project is part of a larger trend in LeClaire toward a diverse housing stock. "We're offering a greater variety," Choate said. "It didn't start out as a conscious effort. It's become a conscious effort." The city is considering annexing the Pebble Creek division, which would add 10 percent to its land area. The division will include a golf course and roughly 130 high-end homes.
Kuhlow also said the LeClaire community is poised for growth - and that's why he's interested in downtown development. "LeClaire is well-positioned to move to the next level," he said, primarily because of the city's attitude toward economic growth. "LeClaire is a progressive community, one that is developer-friendly."
Steve Rosetti, owner of The Faithful Pilot restaurant at 117 North Cody Road, said he supports Kuhlow's proposal for new downtown development. And Michael Hall, owner of the new Dwellings store at 127 North Cody Road, said the proposed developments are one of the reasons he's excited about doing business in LeClaire. His store, which has been open for two months, focuses on home décor, everything from dishes to accessories to candles to artwork. "The whole place is cleaning up," he said of LeClaire.
Some of the city's shopkeepers, though, seem hesitant to embrace the type of development that Kuhlow is trying to bring to the town.
Deb Willaredt, owner of Artswork at 317 North Cody Road, stressed the importance of "planned growth" and said she's wary of development that might exploit the city or its history. "You always have to be watchful," she said.
She notes that LeClaire has an opportunity to be like Galena, the quaint tourist destination to the north. But the community must foster niche shopping and turn away chain stores and cookie-cutter development. The city is "a beautiful river town with a history you can't buy," and it needs to maintain that, she said.
LeClaire is known most as the birthplace of "Buffalo Bill" Cody in 1846, but it was also the home of many river pilots and a booming business community in the mid-1800s, before Davenport developed as the commercial center of the Iowa Quad Cities.
Willaredt makes a distinction between improvements to the levy and new development, saying that the community should focus on making its riverfront area better. "The Mississippi River is the attraction we've got here," she said. What the community needs to guard against is urban sprawl, she said.
The shopkeepers in general are excited about what's happening in the city. Several new shops have opened in recent months, and the shopkeepers are working together - including meeting monthly for the past year and instituting a joint advertising arrangement.
"There's a tremendous sense of community that's starting to build among the shopkeepers," said Rosetti, who opened his restaurant 12 years ago, when LeClaire was "kind of like a ghost town."
Now, merchants are steering customers to other businesses. "There's a sense of support for one another," he said.
"There's strength in numbers," Willaredt said. Of the cooperative advertising campaign, she said, "It's good for my business to do that."
Willaredt's store is in its fourth year, offering hand-crafted works from around the world, ranging from wood items from Jakarta to pieces from local artists. Her products include glass, wood, fiber, textiles, and jewelry.
Willaredt said she chose to open in LeClaire because of its personality. "I loved the quaintness of the community," she said. She also likes that LeClaire businesses try to fill niches, with the attitude, "I want to be the only one like this."
The business owner said she's also excited about the new businesses that have opened. "Everything's just moving and shaking," she said.
One of the new businesses is the Giga Gallery, which has been open for about three months at 303 South Second Street. "I really like the people here," said Danielle Colby-Cushman, owner of Giga Gallery. "For a small town, they're very big-minded."
Giga started as a "place for kids to come and have a creative outlet," but it's grown, now featuring self-taught artists, other local artists, and gift items. She also cited the diversity of local merchants as a drawing card for the community. Consumers "go out of their way for something different," Colby-Cushman said.
She added that more people are moving to this area from Chicago, and they're used to stores that cater to sophisticated tastes. "It's a lifestyle thing," she said.
Colby-Cushman said LeClaire could still use more stores to attract people - a whole-foods business, more restaurants, and "more relaxing, enjoyable, fun things to bring people to LeClaire."
But she's also excited. "The momentum is here," she said. "We have to keep it going."
Another new business is Lydia's Bakery Café, which opened in late June at 201 North Cody Road in the former city-hall building. Owner Ken Bailey said he decided to open the store on a whim when his current location became available. "It just happened by accident," he said.
Bailey said LeClaire was attractive for several reasons: the diversity of products, the number of restaurants, and the way building owners take care of their historic properties. "There are a lot of great shop owners," he said. "Nice sites."
Hall said that he considered sites in the Village of East Davenport and on 53rd Street in Davenport for his Dwellings store, but he chose LeClaire. "I wanted a little more quaint atmosphere," he said.
LeClaire is moving ahead on two distinct paths, with small niche stores adding value to its downtown while the city and developers look to spend millions on new development. The city bears watching over the next few years, to see if LeClaire can balance the old and the new.
"The next three years are going to be really telling for that town," Rosetti said.
For more information on LeClaire, visit (http://www.leclaireiowa.org).
