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Downtowns booming, new housing projects underway

Downtown housing in Davenport and Rock Island sit around a 90 to 97 percent occupancy rate year round.

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Downtown housing in Davenport and Rock Island sit around a 90 to 97 percent occupancy rate year round. For many, it can be difficult to find an opening or qualify for affordable housing.

Some places have a list of over 200 people waiting for housing. Now,  new housing projects could make finding a home a little easier.

“Its really going to change the face of the entrance to downtown,” says Executive Director with Downtown Davenport, Kyle Carter.

Construction for more downtown housing has already started on 4th and Gaines and also off 5th and Brady.

Carter says the two housing projects will bring in 62 market rate and 48 affordable apartments to the downtown davenport area.

“4th and Gaines is the first project in that scale of investment in many, many years. Then over on 5th and Brady, it's a similar gateway to downtown and will eventually include the Martin Luther King Jr. Park,” says Carter.

Units will have a renting price range of $800 to $1,200 per month.  Some units will have income limits for people who make around $30,000 to $40,000 dollars a year. The rest won’t have an income cap.

“The bottom line is its housing everyone can afford. That ensures everyone has a chance to live downtown and I think that mix is very healthy,” added Carter.

Across the river, Rock Island is also seeing the need for more housing

“Any time we renovated something they were sold out before they were completed,” says Jan Masamoto, President of JTM Concepts.

New construction has started at the garden district by the quad city botanical center and a 45 unit apartment building will soon take over the Zimmerman building off 5th and 17th in Rock Island.

“There will also be a commercial space on the bottom floor and the prices will be market driven,” added Masamoto.

“The demand is high and remains high and we have the ability to build more and fill it up,” says Carter.

Since 2013, 284 units have been built in davenport. 500 more are expected to be built over the next 5 years.

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