The Wall Street Journal recently featured another article on the condo that collapsed in Surfside, Florida, in June 2021 killing 98 people. It was published two years after the building collapsed.
Will Davenport be dealing for the next two years with the public relations fallout of the downtown apartment building collapse that killed three people in that city? Let’s hope not.
We would like to know what the city’s public relations plan is for the ongoing fallout. It would be prudent for Davenport to work with a crisis communications professional. Normal city media relations simply won’t suffice, and getting media advice from legal counsel is also another strategy that is bound to not work.
To be sure, the human devastation for the families of the tenants who died and for the former building tenants who were injured and those who lost their homes is horrible and tragic. But officials in Davenport should abide by Winston Churchill’s famous advice given after World War II: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
We also were heartened by two efforts to help residents and businesses impacted by the building disaster. For example, the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s Disaster Recovery Fund collected $80,000 from more than 250 area residents and businesses over the Memorial Day weekend to help those impacted by The Davenport apartments’ collapse.
“These financial gifts came alongside donated items, volunteer time, fundraising efforts, and an outpouring of generosity that comes as no surprise to those fortunate enough to call the Quad Cities home. Our community, as it always does, jumped into action,” Sue Hafkemeyer, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Community Foundation, said in a news release.
And Davenport businesses devastated by the collapse of the 324 Main St. building now are receiving help from their downtown neighbors with a $100,000 allocation of relief funds from the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP).
The DDP, an affiliate of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, created the Downtown Business 324 Main Disaster Relief Fund to help businesses that had to close their doors due to the tragedy.
“We are deeply saddened by this devastating event for families and businesses in our community,” DDP’s Executive Director Kyle Carter said. “This has led to the closure of 18 businesses downtown, each facing their own unique challenges in reopening.”
How the city and the region handle the disaster going forward by assisting loved ones, tenants, stakeholders and the media will go a long way to getting past this disaster. QCBJ
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