There must be things going on in the QC other than the usual few subjects that always get talked about around the blogs.
Here are some shots I got on a 2 hour downtown walk-around after the air show Sunday. I'll probably have another post later today.
The alley between the 2nd/Ripley parking ramp and the New Ventures Center, looking East.
The Arsenal Bridge, and a lot of grain cars passing underneath the Skybridge.
11 comments:
Davenport may have their share of problems, but start watching Bettendorf very closely. Tunnicliff's resignation is just the top of the ice berg - more to follow. The Premiere City is not so premiere. A house of card can only stand for so long before falling.
Well, okay. Open thread, right?
Found y'all while I was trying to find an apartment in the quad cities... Everybody I've talked to says I should live in bettendorf, the other places are "sketchy and blue-collar". It seems to me, though, that all the apartments in Bettendorf are either run by slumlords or slums themselves. Condemned decks? holy crap!
Where's the "young professional" set living in the quad cities these days?
Interesting article in the QCT continuing the saga of the IOC and the river center. Who'd a thunk that the manager of the radisson be upset that a new (better) hotel would be built less than a block away? The notion that the IOC wouldn't know how to run a convention center is also lame. There are several dozen casinos around the country with convention centers. You think a guy coming in to see a car/boat show won't spend a couple hours playing blackjack? Or that his wife would go directly to the slots?
It's time for the city to get out of the convention center biz and hand it over to private enterprise.
7:50am, the young professionals are actually living SOLO in the rehab buildings around down town. Check out the lofts that QCI lives in or the City View Apts up on Iowa and 5th/6th (?) street. New rehab coming on 5th & Harrison as well.
And yes to 8:13am post. I also pucked reading Danny Holmes bitching about the casino and river center. Her is a guy that books 45% of his hotel with gaming. Do you think he is really concerned about the south side of the river center, or the new downtown hotel that they are proposing.
If we had the festival of trees every weekend, I would support keeping the place. But we don't, and this is a "get out of jail card" for the city.
Mobile young professionals are looking at lofts for lease in Downtown Davenport, Moline and Rock Island. Also apartment complexes in north Davenport. Young professionals who hope to stick around awhile have, albeit limited, condo options in all the Downtowns as well. Interest rates are still good - 6.25% for good credit and it's a buyer's market!
After reading all of the comments on how we need to 'save' the rivercenter i'd like to know where all these people were when they were discussing the $650K-$700K cost to the city to keep it afloat and to have someone run it with no growth since they caught the guy stealing. It makes sense for the city to 'cash rent' the rivercenter out to the IOC while having them operate the convention center and saving the taxes for something useful. This is HALF A MILLION DOLLARS a YEAR. Just think of how many restroom/hot dog stands the city could build.
Wow, suspiciously positive comments about the casino...
Without expanding the RiverCenter to the north, I don't agree with the idea. I still prefer my original idea of the casino building new on the vast parking lot surrounding the Blackhawk though.
Everyone bitches about the city subsidizing the River Center, but name me a town that doesn't have to subsidize it's convention center. P.S. The Mark is NOT a convention center.
My biggest concern about the casino and the rivercenter is that IOC has not proven it can be a good steward. Promises were made about the Blackhawk that never happened. IOC or its predecessor also didn't keep the old Petersen building afloat either requiring taxpayer dollars to subsidize a bail-out. IOC seems to have the same MO - make money off of taxpayer investment. It needs to stop.
Moline subsidizes the Mark. There is a dedicated stream of hotel/motel tax that goes to the Mark each year. When the Mark says they break even or make money, they aren't considering the subsidy they get from the City.
Yes, city owned convention centers get money from a tax base but there are far more convention centers attached to and run by private hotels that make a profit off of their convention spaces. What seems to be going down with these backroom discussions is that the city wants a guaranteed revenue stream from this property rather than a consistent loss.
The apparent fact that the 'governing' boards had no clue that these negotiations were going on just suggests a lack of confidence by the city in these boards.
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