20
Aug
2002
Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles on new developments in Quad Cities-area downtowns.
The Quad Cities are divided by the Mississippi, and Moline has its own dividing line.
Although the train tracks that separate the "new" downtown along River Drive from the "old" downtown of Fifth Avenue and south aren't nearly as wide as Big Muddy, they have proved to be a significant challenge. Investment in the riverfront area of Moline continues at a steady pace with projects such as Bass Street Landing east of the John Deere Commons area, yet development south of the tracks has been lagging.
"We're almost two separate cities right now," said Joel Krogman, owner of the Blackthorn Pub on the south side of the tracks on 15th Street.
That could finally be changing. The traditional downtown area of Moline is seeing some new energy and money, and within the next year the old and new downtowns should be more connected. A landscaping and corridor-enhancement project on 15th Street and Fourth Avenue should act as a "bridge for the city," Krogman said.
"The connections are going to become important again," said Nancy Mulcahy, the city's director of economic development.
"People ... will realize there's more stuff on the other side of the tracks," said Gerald Butts, the first president of Renew Moline and past president of the Moline Center Development Corporation who sits on the boards of both organizations. Butts is also chairperson of the Project Management Team for the City of Moline.
Still, there's been frustration that the energy and investment along River Drive has been slow to cross the tracks. And a streetscaping project won't on its own draw major investments in the old downtown. "I think it's slow, and that's frustrating to some people," Krogman said.
Butts urged patience. "The activities in Moline have been more substantial than in any other city in the Quad Cities," he said. "In the past 10 years, we've seen something in excess of $200 million invested in what's essentially downtown Moline. Ten years is not a long time for what's been accomplished."
New Downtown
For 12 years, Steve Anthony had his Ducky's Formal Wear store on Blackhawk Road in Moline, in Rock Valley Plaza. "I was constantly explaining where we were," Anthony said. In mid-February, the store moved to the 1534 River Drive (the former site of Killir Outdoor Sports), and now customers know exactly where it's located - a major benefit of being so close to attractions such as The Mark of the Quad Cities and the John Deere Commons.
While formalwear isn't an impulse buy, better visibility translates into more business, Anthony said. "Top-of-the-mind awareness is incredible," he said. "I think people just know where we are."
The Quad Cities, he said, are parochial, and people tend to patronize businesses in their own cities. But The Mark and the John Deere Commons area are perceived to belong to the entire community, and as a result, downtown Moline is more successful at drawing people from all over the Quad Cities area. (It helps that the Moline riverfront is centrally located.) "So many people are used to coming to The Mark," Anthony said. "It's neutral territory."
The John Deere Commons area is also experimenting with new events in an effort to not only attract but keep people downtown. The inaugural Taste of the Quad Cities was a success this summer, and Meredith Lindell, the Commons' marketing director, said she's planning a fine-arts fair to accompany the event next year. "There really wasn't anything except food to keep people down here" at the Taste, she said. The Commons is also planning an Oktoberfest next year in conjunction with the Quad Cities Marathon.
Still to come this year is a busy September, featuring Viva Quad Cities Fiesta, the Alzheimer's Memory Walk, and the Quad Cities Marathon on three consecutive weekends.
The Mark and the John Deere Pavilion (celebrating its fifth anniversary) have long been attractions on Moline's riverfront, and that amenity base continues to grow. The John Deere Collector's Center opened last year, and construction on the Bass Street Landing project is expected to get underway in earnest next year.
The $37 million Bass Street Landing project east of the John Deere Commons includes office space, retail space, several types of housing, and a public-park area. The Caxton II office building is expected to be renovated next year, a warehouse will be torn down, and the city will begin work on 17th Street. Utility lines are in the process of being moved for the development.
Progress on Bass Street Landing has been fitful, though. A Bass Street Marketing Office opened earlier this summer, but it has since closed, and inquiries are now being handled by Ruhl & Ruhl Commerical.
If it succeeds, Bass Street Landing will fill the "big sore hole" in downtown Moline by providing upscale residents, Krogman said.
Mulcahy said the city is working to market properties around Bass Street Landing, trying to expand success beyond the project's borders.
Finding attractions in downtown Moline has also become easier. The city has put up three-dozen "wayfinding" signs to guide tourists to their destinations, including The Mark, the John Deere Pavilion, MetroLINK Centre Station, and the riverfront.
But a regular challenge has been helping tourists (and Quad Cities residents) find the area south of the Commons. While money has poured into River Drive, Fifth Avenue has struggled.
There has been some progress, with the promise of more to come.
Old Downtown
Renew Moline, the not-for-profit development group for downtown Moline, has hired Shive-Hattery to do engineering on streetscape work on 15th Street and beautification along the rail corridor of Fourth Avenue. Rick Anderson, the president and CEO of Renew Moline, said his organization is paying for the work so that time in 2003 isn't taken up doing the preparation once the project is bonded.
The work will largely be cosmetic, but its purpose isn't. Moline officials hope that an attractive corridor will draw people across the train tracks, from the new downtown to the older business district.
Other efforts are also underway. Blackthorn's Krogman said downtown club and restaurant owners "are starting to come together as a group." Several restaurants - the Blackthorn, Finney's, and Bent River Brewing Company - held five outdoor block parties this summer, some in conjunction with Steamwheelers games at The Mark. "We had such fun with it that we did it on our own," he said. The July 27 event drew approximately 1,000 people, he said.
And that cooperation is going to continue. Krogman said Bent River, the Blackthorn, Stacey's, and J. Gatsby's will be instituting joint cover charges for live music from September through the end of the year, with the goal of presenting an alternative to Rock Island's arts-and-entertainment district. If the initiative is a success, it might become permanent.
Krogman also said a Halloween party and pub crawl are in the works for the fall.
Other things are happening, as well.
Developer Rodney Blackwell recently bought the Fifth Avenue Building on 18th Street. Blackwell is doing some exterior work on the property, and Mulcahy said the city will be negotiating a re-development agreement with him soon. Blackwell said that over the next two years, he will be investing $2 million in the eight-story building, which was constructed in 1931. The building will remain commercial and Blackwell explained his target tenants for the top two floors will be from "the many successful small businesses that are growing in the Quad Cities." He said a new restaurant by Red Crow Grille Chef Dominic Rivera will be the new first-floor anchor tenant.
An assisted-living housing project of approximately 90 units is back on track for the area near 10th Street and Fourth Avenue. Construction on the complex is slated to begin next summer, and the facility is expected to open in summer 2004.
There are also several new retail establishment and restaurants that might open in the coming months. Butts added that the City of Moline is considering building a new municipal campus downtown, including a police station, a fire station, and a library. "There's a lot under consideration," he said.
But the central business district is still more in the vision than the execution stage.
The city was recently awarded a $50,000 grant to study the issue of opening the one-way Fourth and Sixth avenues to two-way traffic.
The city hopes to develop a technology-themed business district at 19th Street and Fifth Avenue, and also hopes to create more housing near the LeClaire Hotel at 421 19th Street.
While Bass Street Landing condos will provide a diverse base of residents, housing is something "we need to keep working at," Mulcahy said.
"We'd like to do more loft housing downtown," she said. Although the city has shown a number of buildings to developers, "we're just not getting the interest."
Mulcahy said she's also hearing from downtown tenants the need to increase the number of retailers and restaurants. In addition, the building at 1518 Fifth Avenue is still for sale. It once was thought to be a candidate for housing, Mulcahy said, but developers have claimed it's better-suited to commercial and retail use.
Lindell said it's crucial for Moline to draw business owners who are willing to spend money rehabilitating properties. "We've got to get the businesses in there that want to re-model" buildings, she said. Renovated storefronts will "translate" into new business, she said.
Lindell has only been with the John Deere Commons for a month, and she said downtown businesses also need to invest in advertising. "They need to put some money down there," she said. "You've got to do more than just be there. ... Half of the restaurants over there I didn't know existed until I walked by them."
Beth Lagomarcino, co-owner of the Quad Cities institution Lagomarcino's, said new investments along Fifth Avenue and south will "encourage other places to clean up" their buildings. Lagomarcino's is in its 94th year in downtown Moline, and it has been at its current location since 1921.
There are barriers to investment, though. Re-development along River Drive has boosted property-tax assessments in recent years along Fifth Avenue - sometimes doubling property taxes. "I hope that doesn't squelch people moving ahead with plans," Lagomarcino said.
Yet Butts said there's momentum building. "Rodney Blackwell wouldn't have bought the Fifth Avenue building if he didn't see opportunities," Butts said.
Progress is sometimes slow, he added. "It took 10 years to develop the John Deere Commons area," Butts said. "If we get some of these things in place in the next three to five years, that would be significant progress."
Lagomarcino said she's "excited" by developments in Moline, but she acknowledges that the railroad corridor is "still a barrier. People can't see what's up here from the Commons.
"We still have a lot of empty storefronts," she added. "There's a lot of work to be done."
Although the train tracks that separate the "new" downtown along River Drive from the "old" downtown of Fifth Avenue and south aren't nearly as wide as Big Muddy, they have proved to be a significant challenge. Investment in the riverfront area of Moline continues at a steady pace with projects such as Bass Street Landing east of the John Deere Commons area, yet development south of the tracks has been lagging.
"We're almost two separate cities right now," said Joel Krogman, owner of the Blackthorn Pub on the south side of the tracks on 15th Street.
That could finally be changing. The traditional downtown area of Moline is seeing some new energy and money, and within the next year the old and new downtowns should be more connected. A landscaping and corridor-enhancement project on 15th Street and Fourth Avenue should act as a "bridge for the city," Krogman said.
"The connections are going to become important again," said Nancy Mulcahy, the city's director of economic development.
"People ... will realize there's more stuff on the other side of the tracks," said Gerald Butts, the first president of Renew Moline and past president of the Moline Center Development Corporation who sits on the boards of both organizations. Butts is also chairperson of the Project Management Team for the City of Moline.
Still, there's been frustration that the energy and investment along River Drive has been slow to cross the tracks. And a streetscaping project won't on its own draw major investments in the old downtown. "I think it's slow, and that's frustrating to some people," Krogman said.
Butts urged patience. "The activities in Moline have been more substantial than in any other city in the Quad Cities," he said. "In the past 10 years, we've seen something in excess of $200 million invested in what's essentially downtown Moline. Ten years is not a long time for what's been accomplished."
New Downtown
For 12 years, Steve Anthony had his Ducky's Formal Wear store on Blackhawk Road in Moline, in Rock Valley Plaza. "I was constantly explaining where we were," Anthony said. In mid-February, the store moved to the 1534 River Drive (the former site of Killir Outdoor Sports), and now customers know exactly where it's located - a major benefit of being so close to attractions such as The Mark of the Quad Cities and the John Deere Commons.
While formalwear isn't an impulse buy, better visibility translates into more business, Anthony said. "Top-of-the-mind awareness is incredible," he said. "I think people just know where we are."
The Quad Cities, he said, are parochial, and people tend to patronize businesses in their own cities. But The Mark and the John Deere Commons area are perceived to belong to the entire community, and as a result, downtown Moline is more successful at drawing people from all over the Quad Cities area. (It helps that the Moline riverfront is centrally located.) "So many people are used to coming to The Mark," Anthony said. "It's neutral territory."
The John Deere Commons area is also experimenting with new events in an effort to not only attract but keep people downtown. The inaugural Taste of the Quad Cities was a success this summer, and Meredith Lindell, the Commons' marketing director, said she's planning a fine-arts fair to accompany the event next year. "There really wasn't anything except food to keep people down here" at the Taste, she said. The Commons is also planning an Oktoberfest next year in conjunction with the Quad Cities Marathon.
Still to come this year is a busy September, featuring Viva Quad Cities Fiesta, the Alzheimer's Memory Walk, and the Quad Cities Marathon on three consecutive weekends.
The Mark and the John Deere Pavilion (celebrating its fifth anniversary) have long been attractions on Moline's riverfront, and that amenity base continues to grow. The John Deere Collector's Center opened last year, and construction on the Bass Street Landing project is expected to get underway in earnest next year.
The $37 million Bass Street Landing project east of the John Deere Commons includes office space, retail space, several types of housing, and a public-park area. The Caxton II office building is expected to be renovated next year, a warehouse will be torn down, and the city will begin work on 17th Street. Utility lines are in the process of being moved for the development.
Progress on Bass Street Landing has been fitful, though. A Bass Street Marketing Office opened earlier this summer, but it has since closed, and inquiries are now being handled by Ruhl & Ruhl Commerical.
If it succeeds, Bass Street Landing will fill the "big sore hole" in downtown Moline by providing upscale residents, Krogman said.
Mulcahy said the city is working to market properties around Bass Street Landing, trying to expand success beyond the project's borders.
Finding attractions in downtown Moline has also become easier. The city has put up three-dozen "wayfinding" signs to guide tourists to their destinations, including The Mark, the John Deere Pavilion, MetroLINK Centre Station, and the riverfront.
But a regular challenge has been helping tourists (and Quad Cities residents) find the area south of the Commons. While money has poured into River Drive, Fifth Avenue has struggled.
There has been some progress, with the promise of more to come.
Old Downtown
Renew Moline, the not-for-profit development group for downtown Moline, has hired Shive-Hattery to do engineering on streetscape work on 15th Street and beautification along the rail corridor of Fourth Avenue. Rick Anderson, the president and CEO of Renew Moline, said his organization is paying for the work so that time in 2003 isn't taken up doing the preparation once the project is bonded.
The work will largely be cosmetic, but its purpose isn't. Moline officials hope that an attractive corridor will draw people across the train tracks, from the new downtown to the older business district.
Other efforts are also underway. Blackthorn's Krogman said downtown club and restaurant owners "are starting to come together as a group." Several restaurants - the Blackthorn, Finney's, and Bent River Brewing Company - held five outdoor block parties this summer, some in conjunction with Steamwheelers games at The Mark. "We had such fun with it that we did it on our own," he said. The July 27 event drew approximately 1,000 people, he said.
And that cooperation is going to continue. Krogman said Bent River, the Blackthorn, Stacey's, and J. Gatsby's will be instituting joint cover charges for live music from September through the end of the year, with the goal of presenting an alternative to Rock Island's arts-and-entertainment district. If the initiative is a success, it might become permanent.
Krogman also said a Halloween party and pub crawl are in the works for the fall.
Other things are happening, as well.
Developer Rodney Blackwell recently bought the Fifth Avenue Building on 18th Street. Blackwell is doing some exterior work on the property, and Mulcahy said the city will be negotiating a re-development agreement with him soon. Blackwell said that over the next two years, he will be investing $2 million in the eight-story building, which was constructed in 1931. The building will remain commercial and Blackwell explained his target tenants for the top two floors will be from "the many successful small businesses that are growing in the Quad Cities." He said a new restaurant by Red Crow Grille Chef Dominic Rivera will be the new first-floor anchor tenant.
An assisted-living housing project of approximately 90 units is back on track for the area near 10th Street and Fourth Avenue. Construction on the complex is slated to begin next summer, and the facility is expected to open in summer 2004.
There are also several new retail establishment and restaurants that might open in the coming months. Butts added that the City of Moline is considering building a new municipal campus downtown, including a police station, a fire station, and a library. "There's a lot under consideration," he said.
But the central business district is still more in the vision than the execution stage.
The city was recently awarded a $50,000 grant to study the issue of opening the one-way Fourth and Sixth avenues to two-way traffic.
The city hopes to develop a technology-themed business district at 19th Street and Fifth Avenue, and also hopes to create more housing near the LeClaire Hotel at 421 19th Street.
While Bass Street Landing condos will provide a diverse base of residents, housing is something "we need to keep working at," Mulcahy said.
"We'd like to do more loft housing downtown," she said. Although the city has shown a number of buildings to developers, "we're just not getting the interest."
Mulcahy said she's also hearing from downtown tenants the need to increase the number of retailers and restaurants. In addition, the building at 1518 Fifth Avenue is still for sale. It once was thought to be a candidate for housing, Mulcahy said, but developers have claimed it's better-suited to commercial and retail use.
Lindell said it's crucial for Moline to draw business owners who are willing to spend money rehabilitating properties. "We've got to get the businesses in there that want to re-model" buildings, she said. Renovated storefronts will "translate" into new business, she said.
Lindell has only been with the John Deere Commons for a month, and she said downtown businesses also need to invest in advertising. "They need to put some money down there," she said. "You've got to do more than just be there. ... Half of the restaurants over there I didn't know existed until I walked by them."
Beth Lagomarcino, co-owner of the Quad Cities institution Lagomarcino's, said new investments along Fifth Avenue and south will "encourage other places to clean up" their buildings. Lagomarcino's is in its 94th year in downtown Moline, and it has been at its current location since 1921.
There are barriers to investment, though. Re-development along River Drive has boosted property-tax assessments in recent years along Fifth Avenue - sometimes doubling property taxes. "I hope that doesn't squelch people moving ahead with plans," Lagomarcino said.
Yet Butts said there's momentum building. "Rodney Blackwell wouldn't have bought the Fifth Avenue building if he didn't see opportunities," Butts said.
Progress is sometimes slow, he added. "It took 10 years to develop the John Deere Commons area," Butts said. "If we get some of these things in place in the next three to five years, that would be significant progress."
Lagomarcino said she's "excited" by developments in Moline, but she acknowledges that the railroad corridor is "still a barrier. People can't see what's up here from the Commons.
"We still have a lot of empty storefronts," she added. "There's a lot of work to be done."
