Is anyone there? Does anyone care?
Why is nothing being done about these Davenport eyesores?
DAVENPORT — One of the most remarkable journalists I worked with in my three-decade or so long media career is the late Quad City Times columnist, the legendary Bill Wundram.
A Davenport native, Bill started at the Times’ predecessor paper in 1944 and worked for the same publication uninterrupted - many years eschewing any vacation time - until his (not entirely voluntary) retirement in 2022. Even more remarkably, Bill wrote a column that appeared DAILY from 1979 until shortly prior to his retirement. His productivity as a columnist was unmatched and will never be bested.
Because of the frequency and sheer volume of his missives, Bill’s column often tended to focus on amusing, light topics. But when he did point out problems, people listened.
Bill’s best gambit for holding politicians, organizations and the community at large accountable was his frequent “If They Put Me in Charge” feature, in which he often repeated the phrase “Is anybody, there? Does anybody care?” It did a fantastic job applying just the right amount of social shame to spur action and remedy problems, large and small.
Now, I am no Bill Wundram and definitely have neither the countless sources, incredible institutional and hometown history knowledge or sheer stamina to attempt a full resurrection of this effective form of advocacy journalism.
But I am going to try, in my small way.
Starting with this Brecht’s Beat column, I will try to identify ongoing, too-long ignored issues here in the Quad Cities that SOMEONE needs to dig into (looking at you area media folks!)
For our first foray, we are going to take a look at the subject of large scale building eyesores, both of which have lingered far too long with little indication anyone is doing anything about them. Begging the question:
Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
If one is driving into downtown Davenport along River Drive from Bettendorf or other points east, an imposing tan building looms on the north side of the road, right at the gateway to the central business district. This is a former Hostess plant that operated from 1929 until its closure in 2010, one of the bakeries where millions of loaves of ubiquitous Wonder Bread rolled off the assembly line.
The former plant was already long in the tooth and starting to look seedy by 2013 when area developer Dan Dolan announced with great fanfare it would be renovated into loft apartments and retail space. Despite the fact the developer said he had secured more than $5 million in state historical tax credits and was busy raising millions more privately, nothing happened at the site for the next seven years.
In 2020, the Quad City Times reported plans for the former bakery had changed. Now, it was to be a luxury condo aimed at empty nesters. The retail component was scrapped and an additional semi-high rise 8-story building with more units was to be built on the west end of the renovated plant. The new project was called “Continental Lofts” and a sign with conceptual art and a phone number and web address seeking interested tenants was placed on both the east and west sides of the building.
Another two years passed. Still, nothing.
So the Times did another story in 2022. Now, the developer said he’d brought on another partner - Frank Levy and his Des Moines-based company Newbury Living. The total project cost had risen from $15 million in 2013 to $31 million. Dolan and Levy said although the project had been delayed due to the global Covid pandemic, it would be under construction by 2021 and open to tenants by spring of 2022.
It is now the spring of 2024 and this is what it looks like:
In January, a car crashed into the east side of the building. The plywood patch where the vehicle smashed out bricks remains in place. It is tagged with graffiti. Rusty water splotches decorate the west end. Old (likely lead-based?) paint peels off the backside.
Still, no word from the developers. And is anyone checking on the alleged state tax credit situation?
It is long past time for this eyesore on Davenport’s riverfront, one of the first buildings many entering the city’s downtown, is either finally renovated or demolished. At minimum, developers have an ethical responsibility to update the public on progress and area media has been negligent in staying on this story over the past two years.
Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
In the next installment of this feature, we will look at the two Village of East Davenport properties sitting vacant and decaying after being ordered evacuated by City of Davenport inspectors in June of 2023. Both were owned by landlord Andrew Wold, who garnered international approbation when his building at 324 Main Street collapsed, killing three and leaving dozens homeless.
While much attention has rightly been focused on Wold’s legal troubles stemming from the building collapse and concern about the City of Davenport’s lack of action to prevent it, the Village of East Davenport situation is also problematic.
More on that to come . . .
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Nice column, Tory. I care.
Good ideas, Tory.