Renew Moline and Bush Development are partnering to redevelop the former Riverstone headquarters in downtown Moline. CREDIT RENEW MOLINE
Renew Moline is partnering with Bush Development to reimagine the old Riverstone headquarters property at 1701 Fifth Ave. in order to get more “feet on the street” in downtown Moline. Renew, the private nonprofit dedicated to economic development in Moline, and Davenport-based Bush announced the partnership Tuesday, Jan. 17, a week after the Executive Committee […]
Renew Moline is partnering with Bush Development to reimagine the old Riverstone headquarters property at 1701 Fifth Ave. in order to get more “feet on the street” in downtown Moline. Renew, the private nonprofit dedicated to economic development in Moline, and Davenport-based Bush announced the partnership Tuesday, Jan. 17, a week after the Executive Committee of Renew’s board of directors approved the selection to create a plan to redevelop what for many years was a JCPenney Store.The property includes a two-story, 35,064-square-foot building and a parking lot directly north of the building. The Riverstone Group donated the property to Renew in August 2022 to spur new life and economic development at the property and in downtown Moline.“Renew Moline is pleased to announce an important partnership to redevelop this property,” Greg Derrick, Renew Moline chairman, said Tuesday in a joint news release. “The property has the potential to infuse significant new energy in the area. We are looking forward to developing a redevelopment strategy together with the Bush Development team.” Added Jon Davidshofer, director of development for Bush Construction: “Our team is honored and excited to partner with Renew Moline and the City of Moline on what we feel will be a catalytic project. We believe the 1701 Fifth Ave. project will boost new development in the heart of downtown Moline and prove to be a true example of a public-private partnership.” In the fall of 2022, Renew Moline solicited development proposals for the renovation of the existing building, with a new construction component on the parking lot to the north.“The property generated quite a bit of interest,” Renew CEO and President Alexandra Elias told the QCBJ. “We probably talked to six Midwest developers last fall. Of those, two were invited to submit full proposals: Bush Development and Gorman USA.”“Both have done projects in the Quad Cities,” Ms. Elias added, “so we were pleased to have interest from developers that know our market well and have experience developing high quality projects. We are very excited to start work toward a project that will get more ‘feet on the street’ downtown.”Project plans are in the early stages, the release said, and are likely to include a residential component to meet market demand for urban living. Renew and Bush anticipate the first steps of the project will include refining the concept and negotiating a development agreement with the City of Moline. Any development agreement would require approval by the Moline City Council. A timeline is expected to be announced in late spring.In mid-2021, the Urban Land Institute Advisory Panel identified the project site as having potential for multi-family residential, according to the release. RiverStone Group, a leading producer of aggregates in the Midwest, donated its former headquarters to Renew Moline in July 2022 in the hopes of spurring redevelopment. Built in 1956 as a JCPenney department store, the building was one of two JCPenney locations on Moline’s Fifth Avenue downtown retail center. The department store moved to SouthPark Mall in 1972, about five years after the new mall was constructed.The structure also was among the contributing buildings included in Moline’s successful bid to win the National Register of Historic Place’s Historic Downtown designation in August 2007.In announcing the building gift to the city last July, Riverstone Vice President Mike Ellis said “We are pleased to be able to donate a quality building to continue Renew’s track record of redevelopment success. We are excited to see what the future holds.”Bush Development, a division of Bush Construction, offers full-spectrum development services. As a full-service construction company, development is the first step of Bush Construction’s integrated approach offering services in real estate development, architecture and building.Bush Development guides its customers through the complex process of analyzing and planning real estate development. “Our team excels in evaluating the multitude of financing options available and developing plans that best suit each customer’s unique short- and long-term goals,” the company said.
