River Renaissance Began Construction 20 Years Ago

They said it couldn’t be done.  Why invest downtown?  There’s nothing there!  Just give up!  What a waste, the naysayers said! Then a whopping 73% of Scott County voters said YES anyway to the River Renaissance bond referendum in 2001 to revitalize downtown Davenport.  What happened next is something we don’t acknowledge or celebrate enough in the Quad Cities – SUCCESS.

Leveraged by a $20 million Vision Iowa grant and local bond approval, the $113 million cornerstone placemaking investment known as River Renaissance in downtown began construction 20 years ago. This led to the creation of the Figge Art Museum, River Music Experience and Redstone renovation, Skybridge, Adler Theatre stage renovations, and construction of two new parking ramps and the NewVentures Center.

These anchor projects set the table for the vitality we’ve enjoyed the past 20 years in the heart of Davenport.  We’ve now seen over $630 million of private and public investment.  We’ve celebrated the revitalization of the Hotel Blackhawk; nearly all our key historic buildings alive again; a market-rate housing boom; an explosion of new food, beverage, and live entertainment options; River Vision; the #1 minor league ballpark; and the establishment of our arts and culture institutions as not just critical to our quality of life, but genuine drivers of economic growth and workforce attraction. 

To put it bluntly, we executed a plan, and it worked.  The final bond payments were finished in 2020-2021.  Our strong foundation still stands after everything from record flooding to a global pandemic.  The blood sweat and tears were worth it.  Davenport and the Quad Cities should stand tall and take pride of our leadership in visionary placemaking investments driving community development.

The work is never done, and there are plenty of tough issues to tackle in our QC urban cores and riverfront. That said, we need to celebrate our wins; we certainly never miss an opportunity to highlight our failures! Thank to you every citizen, business, and civic leader who had this wisdom to say YES 20 years ago.

Over the next 20 years, we’ll need to step up our game even more or risk irrelevance in an ever more competitive national marketplace.  Thankfully, placemaking opportunities abound in every corner of the region.

So what’s next?  A truly regional bike trail that connects every city and downtown safely? A region-wide flood mitigation system?  A massive investment in public Art and the performing Arts?   Four-year terms?  A regional funding-mechanism to share cost and build our big ideas rather than argue for years? 

But that’s expensive!  That’s hard!  It can’t be done!  Why bother!  Just give up already! 

Sound familiar?  Big ideas take big effort, sustained support, and a willingness to take some risk. Whatever we collectively agree the next big thing is, remember to say YES when we swing for the fences to keep the Quad Cities competitive, relevant, and attractive. 

Turns out, it works.

Kyle Carter
VP Place Management, Quad Cities Chamber
Executive Director, Downtown Davenport Partnership