A new hotel is planned for downtown Davenport near the Government Bridge and at the site of the old Clayton House, later Howard Johnson.
The new hotel will be a TownePlace Suites by Marriott. Construction is expected to begin this spring on the three-story building at 227 LeClaire St. The hotel will have 60 to 80 rooms, according to Charles Miller of Austin Engineering of Peoria, Ill., the company designing the hotel project.
Mr. Miller, who did not know when the hotel construction will be done, represented the new project during a Davenport Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Feb. 10.
“This is going to be a nice addition to the entrance to the city,” Mr. Miller told the board.
During the brief meeting, Mr. Miller answered several questions from the board. He told board members the new hotel will have four charging stations for electric vehicles and will have more than the required number of handicap-accessible parking spaces.
The board on Thursday voted 4-0 to approve a request to place a Dumpster enclosure in the southwest corner in the front yard of the property because of the unusual size of the new hotel site. The board had to take action on the request because usually Dumpsters are prohibited in the front and corner side yards.
During the meeting, city staff members told the board that information on the hotel project and Dumpster placement request was sent to property owners near the proposed hotel site. The city did not receive any responses. There were also no public comments made for or against the project during the meeting.
After Thursday’s meeting, Mr. Miller said he expects the hotel project to move forward quickly now that it has received the approval from the zoning board of adjustments.
“This is one of the last obstacles to be fully engaged in this project,” he added.
That request to the zoning board was made on behalf of Riverwatch LLC with Quad Cities attorney John Carroll and Aaron Mailey listed as the group’s representatives. Mr. Carroll and Mr. Mailey were not at Thursday’s meeting. Calls to Mr. Mailey and other people associated with the hotel project were not returned.
Kyle Carter, executive director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), confirmed earlier this week the new hotel project is in the works, but also said he was not in a position to provide any details.
“We’re just very excited to see it going up. … There’s a lot of moving parts that had to be done before it could go forward,” added Mr. Carter.
The hotel is now planned for a currently empty lot near the Quad-City Times building and the Government Bridge. The hotel was built in 1964. It was the longtime Clayton House, but was a Howard Johnson when it closed.
The abandoned hotel, which sat vacant for several years, was demolished in late 2015. At that time, plans were announced by local investors to build a $25 million six-story, mixed-use office building called the Riverwatch Place on the site.
Thursday’s zoning board of adjustment agenda described the project this way: “The proposed hotel will be setback approximately five feet from the LeClaire Street lot line for approximately 82 feet and 10.5 feet from the lot line for approximately 22 feet along 3rd (Street) and approximately 60 feet from East River Drive.”
