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New owners offer opportunities for Bettendorf’s Lodge Hotel site

There’s new life on the way for the site of the shuttered Lodge Hotel in Bettendorf. The once-elegant hotel closed for good in August. Now, developers SJ ...

There's new life on the way for the site of the shuttered Lodge Hotel in Bettendorf.

The once-elegant hotel closed for good in August.

Now, developers SJ Russell and Bob Schwartz are taking over.

Their new partnership, CDCQC, paid nearly $700,000 for the hotel's tax certificate.

"It's very exciting," said Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher.  "We're going to be able to expect the type of project that Russell has put together before.  It's the type of project we'll enjoy in the corridor."

The partnership will consider reselling the property or knocking it down and starting from scratch.

"I think it brings some certainty to an otherwise uncertain situation," said Bettendorf City Administrator Decker Ploehn.

October's liquidation sale wasn't enough to save the hotel for Quad City Lodging Partners.

A variety of money and building problems brought down the final curtain for the faded gem.

"I never dreamed I'd see the day this would happen," said longtime Jumer's Castle Lodge employee Sue Kuehl back in October.

With more than eight acres available, the land offers more potential than the building.  That will be a factor in future decisions.

The site is a visible gateway to Bettendorf.  That makes the land valuable for commercial or retail projects which may or may not include a hotel.

"That I-74 Bridge corridor is going to grow up with the new bridge," Gallagher continued.  "This could be a fantastic place for property in the future."

As one era gives way to another, Bettendorf is ready to help make it happen.

"I think it presents a great opportunity for them and a great opportunity for us," Ploehn concluded.

 

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