East Moline prepares for big plans, ‘neat things’

East Moline is in the midst of big projects and many “neat things.” That’s the message East Moline Mayor Reggie Freeman offered on Thursday, March 23, during his annual State of the City Address. The address, presented at the Bend Event Center, 910 Bend Blvd., East Moline, was part of a Rotary Club lunch meeting […]

East Moline is in the midst of big projects and many “neat things.” That’s the message East Moline Mayor Reggie Freeman offered on Thursday, March 23, during his annual State of the City Address. The address, presented at the Bend Event Center, 910 Bend Blvd., East Moline, was part of a Rotary Club lunch meeting that attracted more than 100 people. During the address, the mayor outlined many projects and partnerships that are helping East Moline move forward.

“The lights are still on and we have some neat things coming up. We want people in East Moline and the surrounding communities to know about them,” Mr. Freeman said before his address when asked about the central theme to his speech. Perhaps topping the list of “neat things” that are on the drawing board is the city’s plans to revitalize portions of East Moline’s downtown area with the help of a $23.7 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant awarded to the city. City Engineer Tim Kammler outlined those plans, which are expected to cost about $29.6 million with the RAISE grant paying for much of the project and East Moline paying for about $5.9 million of the costs.

The goal is to create a “welcoming environment” in East Moline by making many improvements to the 15th Avenue corridor, 12th Avenue corridor, Seventh Street area and The Bend. Some of those improvements will include streetscaping, sidewalks and upgrades to railroad crossings. If all goes according to plan, construction will begin in 2025 and be complete around 2027, Mr. Kammler said. Those improvements will help create a “new sense of place in our downtown,” the mayor added. In much of his State of the City Address, Mr. Freeman lauded the partnerships the city has built with many groups to help improve the city. Those improvements include bringing more jobs and businesses to East Moline, improving housing and helping local students.  Some of those partnerships he highlighted include: East Moline Main Street Association; Joe Moreno and the Firecracker Run and Freedom Run events; John DeDoncker and TBK Bank for their help in providing a new building for the East Moline Public Library; the Greater Metro Area Housing Authority and its plans to improve the Streed Tower with a $12 million to $15 million upgrade; and Project NOW Head Start, which has property at 499 27th St. The mayor said the city has been speaking with the Rev. Dwight Ford, executive director of Project NOW, about  expanding the program. He also noted MetroNet’s installation of high-speed fiber optics in the city. “You’ve heard the expression ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts’ and it rings true in what we’ve been able to accomplish in East Moline and the Quad Cities as a whole,” Mr. Freeman said. Some of the other projects outlined in the address included:

• Housing development at The Quarter. That project, a partnership between Brad Bagby and Larry Anderson, is “making great progress on residential development,” the mayor said. He added that if the four phases of the project are eventually completed, it will bring 63 new housing units to the city and generate more than $500,000 in property taxes.
• Strand Theater. The long vacant theater on 15th Avenue could be renovated and reopened. The mayor said a deal is in the works and could be closed in a few weeks. “The buyer wants to have a dinner theater at this location, which could be an additional draw downtown,” the mayor added.
• My Place Hotel. Construction continues on a new hotel on the south side of the XPO Center. The hotel will have 65 rooms and should be complete later this year.
• New retail center. This new center is in the final stages of construction along 12th Avenue in the Bend.  “The tenants have not been announced as of yet, but I’m told there is considerable interest from potential tenants,” he said.
• Bend XPO. This facility continues to bring big events to East Moline.
• New car wash. The city is now in the “approval process” for a new Tommy’s Express Car Wash at 306 Avenue of the Cities, he said.
• Green Current Technologies. The mayor said environmentalist Chad Pregracke and his company, Green Current Technologies, are ready to start operations on a plastic recycling facility in the old McLaughlin Body shop building on 12th Avenue. “They plan to take recycled plastic materials and reform and resume them resulting in a reduction of the waste stream without generating harmful byproducts,” he said.
• Visitor Center at The Quarter. Mr. Pregracke also is working with the city to buy the Visitor Center and turn it into an office for his group, Living Lands & Waters, and the Nature Conservancy. Living Lands also will be docking an educational barge on the river next to the center to provide learning opportunities for students. Mr. Freeman said this deal could be closed in early April.

The mayor also urged the attendees at the State of the City Address to help the city in finding good candidates to fill the city’s open jobs. “We’re having difficulty finding candidates for patrol officers and firefighter/paramedics and our applicant numbers are down for street, water and wastewater jobs as well,” he added.