A bridge to the future: Developers lay plans, pin hopes on housing

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By Dustin Lemmon | Monday, June 11, 2007 1:07 AM CDT | () comments

(Lauren M. Anderson/Quad-City Times) Legends of Mill Creek is one of several new housing developments in Milan. Projects also are planned for Moline, Rock Island and Coal Valley.

The backyard features a scenic overlook of Mill Creek and dense woodlands, and is home to a variety of wildlife.

On the opposite side of the new Milan home is a large empty field of vacant lots waiting to be filled, possibly after the Veterans Memorial Bridge at Carr’s Crossing brings an anticipated influx of new residents.

John and Evelyn Fullmer moved into the only finished home at the Legends of Mill Creek in November after deciding they wanted to be closer to the cities, while still living in a relatively rural setting as they had at their previous Milan residence.

“We’re older and we’re closer to the stores and the hospital,” Evelyn Fullmer said. “You’re close enough to the city, but you’re still out in the rural.”

Legends of Mill Creek is one of several new housing developments south of the Rock River that are allowing the once landlocked cities of Moline and Rock Island to expand. Legends is one of five large housing developments opening in Milan.

Dan Neppl, a developer working on Legends of Mill Creek, said the bridge is a big draw for people looking at homes in the development, which will have 65 houses and 30 villas.

A drive from the property to Trinity Medical Center-7th Street Campus in Moline will be reduced from about eight minutes to four once the bridge is finished, he said. Neppl expects a lot of retirees to be interested in the development since it will be close to the cities, while maintaining a rural setting.

“I think the city of Milan is being very aggressive right now,” Neppl said. “Milan is a wonderful community to live in. This is more of a community feel.”

Rob Fick, president of Mel Foster, who is developing two projects in Moline — The Bluffs at Pryce Farm and The Bluffs at Case Creek — said the bridge should benefit both developments, which will have about 250 new properties combined.

“When you put in something of that nature, it’s always a boon to development,” Fick said of the bridge. “Until they got this done, (the communities) were sort of landlocked.”

James Costello, who is developing a Milan project called Shadow Wood, was a little more skeptical about how much growth the bridge will spur, citing the current slow housing market.

“They all say it’s going to help and I can see where it’s going to move traffic a lot easier,” he said. “Whether the bridge is going to be a factor (in selling homes), it’s just too early to tell.”

Several developers said their housing projects have been delayed while the Illinois Department of Transportation finishes the bridge, which was supposed to open last fall. They think the market will come alive with the June 18 opening.

“There has been a number of people waiting on the completion of the bridge to come out to this region,” Ken Hoffman, developer of a Milan residential project called The Conservancy, said. “The bridge has been put off so long people just physically want to be able to see it, drive on it and see that it’s a reality.”

Randy Coon, who recently moved from Coal Valley, Ill., to The Conservancy with his wife, is in a situation similar to that of the Fullmers — he is the only one living there at the moment.

“We probably wouldn’t have built out there if it wasn’t for the bridge,” he said. Once the bridge is finished “I think all of it is just going to go nuts out there.”

Communities in the Illinois Quad-Cities hope that is true. They expect the bridge to give them a better chance of competing with Iowa for new home buyers.

“We lost people from Illinois to Iowa because there hasn’t been a lot of options to them,” Hoffman said. “A lot of people that have come out have been really excited. We’re hoping to draw people back to Illinois.”

Neppl thinks the Illinois communities have advantages over their Iowa counterparts with better traffic flow on the Rock Island-Milan Parkway (formerly the Milan Beltway), especially once the bridge is finished.

“I’ve never lost a sale to someone moving to Iowa,” he boasted. “I’ve sold several lots to people moving to the Illinois side. The Illinois side is more comfortable, more opened up.”

While the developers expect the Illinois communities to challenge those in Iowa, they don’t see the Iowa cities losing out on more developments and housing growth.

Nor do the developers see the area’s population growing considerably to fill the new homes. Most of the buyers likely will be relocating from somewhere else in the area.

Cal Lee, superintendent of the Moline-Coal Valley School District, said he doesn’t expect an influx of new students from outside the Quad-Cities. The district’s enrollment is expected to flatten out in the next five years and remain around 7,500 students, which he said is positive news since the district saw declining numbers for several years.

“I would anticipate that a lot of the movement will come from within the area,” he said. “Unless you have (new) jobs here I don’t know where the growth is going to come from.”

Lee said there is no way to know if the bridge will give the district a boost in enrollment.

“I don’t have a feel for that,” he said. “I would love for that to happen.”

Mike Oberhaus, comptroller of the Rock Island-Milan School District, said if housing developments in Milan bring in the 200 new homes that are anticipated, the school district expects to add 300 students.

“The hardest part is to predict how soon that will happen,” he said. “There hasn’t been much development in that part of town in a long time so it’s hard to estimate.”

Oberhaus said he hopes Iowa residents working in Illinois will decide to move across the river to shorten their commute and avoid crossing the Interstate 74 bridge every day.

“I think it will be beneficial to the community overall when the bridge opens up,” he said.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.

Housing developments

The Bluffs at Case Creek, Moline

50-55 units, $300,000 and up

Developer: Rob Fick

The Bluffs at Pryce Farm, Moline

200 units, $250,000 and up

Developer: Rob Fick

Ridges of Coal Valley, Coal Valley

80 lots, $250,000 to $400,000

Developer: Bill Watkins

Fox Trail, Rock Island

32 lots, $240,000 to $300,000

Developer: Bill Watkins

Highland Place, Rock Island

17 single-family homes, $300,000; 15 condos, $225,000 and up

Developers: Jim Haas and Gary Hodge

Legends of Mill Creek, Milan

65 homes and 30 villas, $250,000 and up

Developer: Dan Neppl

The Conservancy, Milan

45 detached cottages, $269,000; 60 single-family homes, $300,000

Developer: Ken Hoffman

Settlement at Lake Forest, Milan

More than 200 mixed-use homes, $250,000 and up for homes, $140,000 and up for condos

Developer: Mike Ingleby

Shadow Wood, Milan

32 lots, $200,000 and up

Developer: James Costello