Davenport City Council officially accepts plan

A space for entrepreneurship and innovation. A thriving residential center with walkable streets. A hub for entertainment, arts and play with a world-class waterfront. This is the vision for downtown Davenport in a new master plan commissioned by the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), in conjunction with the City of Davenport, to set the stage for a more sustainable, vibrant and inclusive destination over the next 10 years.

Davenport City Council officially accepted the plan at its meeting Jan. 27, marking a milestone for the project started a year ago by DDP, an affiliate of the Quad Cities Chamber.

“As downtown goes, so goes Davenport and the Quad Cities," said Kyle Carter, Executive Director, DDP. "Our community is well-prepared to rebound quickly from a challenging couple of years with this roadmap for the future."

Planning and urban design firm WXY Studio led the process with the help of SB Friedman Development Advisors (market analysis and economic incentives) and Sam Schwartz Engineering (mobility). The consultants incorporated a lot of input from Quad Citizens, city policymakers, developers, community advocates and business leaders into the plan despite not being able to hold in-person meetings due to COVID-19.

Guided by a 15-person steering committee, the team engaged representatives from more than 75 organizations in stakeholder interviews and focus groups and collected over 550 responses in an online perception survey. Grateful for the diversity and breadth of people involved in the process, Carter is eager to put this “ambitious yet still very realistic" plan into action.

“No plan can guarantee what will get accomplished, but I can guarantee DDP will work tirelessly to ensure the private and public sectors work in concert to get as much of this done as possible," he said.

The plan’s underlying framework is designed as a guide for the activation and development of the downtown, rather than a rigid vision of what the downtown will become. The five pillars for growth are playful, connected & protected; livable; innovative; inclusive; and celebrated.

Here are some of the projects DDP already has in the works since completing the plan:

Playful, connected & protected

• Develop principles for the riverfront that balance flood protection with world-class design and work to embed these principles in the City’s ongoing flood resiliency engineering study
• Build public realm infrastructure that prioritizes walkability, safety and business growth with the return of two-way streets and expanded streetscape
• Create a DDP public art committee and mural program with the goal of completing the first project this spring
• Implement a new block-party event model in addition to traditional summer festivals; programming could include outdoor dining, films, music and other activities

Livable

• Hire two downtown ambassadors this spring to provide public hospitality services for downtown visitors, businesses and residents, including daily engagement with housing social-service partners, on-street presence to help deter crime and assistance with sidewalk cleaning

Innovative

• Establish an equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem with regional partners to offer financial tools, mentoring, coaching and other assistance

Inclusive

• Seek connections with groups and individuals interested in producing multicultural events to increase support of diverse programming

"We’re just getting started, but I’m particularly excited about our capacity to leverage new construction on several large sites downtown," Carter said. “We've thought a lot about how we can grow our downtown in a way that benefits both those who have already invested their lives here and those who decide to invest here in the future."

Want more information about the Downtown Master Plan? See the full master plan document or the executive summary.