East Village presentation draws crowd

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By Alma Gaul | Thursday, January 11, 2007 9:48 AM CST | () comments

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS This is a designer’s idea of how an area of the Village of East Davenport could look �” looking to the west �” with the addition of trees, historic light standards, picnic tables and a new three-story building.

This is the way an area of the East Village looks today.

More than 100 people crowded into a shop in the Village of East Davenport on Wednesday night to hear a presentation on ideas to strengthen the historic shopping district, which has struggled in recent years with a downturn in foot traffic.

The heart of the presentation by Darrin Nordahl, of the City of Davenport’s design center, was a computer slide show of how different areas would look with the addition of trees, benches and brick sidewalks — improvements that he said could be accomplished at relatively little cost.

Increasing the area’s visual appeal would draw more people, thereby boosting existing businesses and making the area more appealing to new ones, he said.

One of Nordahl’s slides showed how 11th Street would look with angle parking, which would provide twice as many spaces as the existing parallel parking, thereby addressing one of the perennial concerns of the area, he said.

Perhaps the most dramatic set of “before” and “after” was of the strip of land north of East River Drive between Mound Street and the railroad trestle. The “after” shows not only the addition of trees, period lighting standards and outdoor tables, but a three-story building where a one-story structure is now.

“To a certain extent, the success of the Village is not just dressing it up, but incorporating more uses, including residential use,” Nordahl said of the idea of building a taller structure with room for apartments or condominiums.

Jack Bruckman, a Village property owner, made two suggestions for the area of Lindsay Park where the ball diamonds are now — installation of a carousel and an outdoor movie screen that would have the effect of attracting families to the area, he said.

The presentation was developed by the vision task force of the Village of East Davenport Business Association. An impetus for formation of the task force was a controversy a year ago over a proposal to open a nightclub in the old Turner Hall building. The controversy brought about the recognition that the Village has some problems that need to be addressed, Alderman Bill Lynn, 5th Ward, has said.

Wednesday’s presentation was attended by business and property owners and other interested parties who were sent invitations by the Village business association. Reaction was generally positive.

“The time is right,” said Todd Wiebenga, owner of the Aunt Rhodies landscape business. “The feeling downtown is that the downtown is looking good, but this is an area that is kind of on the brink of bad stuff.”

For big improvements to be accomplished, there needs to be support from within the Village and the city of Davenport as well as private investors, Wiebenga said.

“What is happening with LeClaire (Iowa) and Galena (Ill.) is that a group with a vision tells a strong story and gets private development to buy into the vision,” he said.

Regardless of the particulars, “this turnout shows that people care about the Village,” said Tom Largomarcino, president of the Village association.

Alma Gaul can be contacted at (563) 383-2324 or agaul@qctimes.com.