EAST MOLINE, Illinois - Aldermen here will learn the latest on a long-awaited riverfront project during a briefing on Monday, December 5, 2016.
Developers are seeking approval to move forward with a development at the former Case-New Holland site.
The latest plans show a Hyatt Regency Hotel rising above the riverfront. Some 240 rooms would be split between daily and extended stays.
"This is what it will be - a great place for all of the Quad Cities," said East Moline Mayor John Thodos. "But for the city of East Moline, a fantastic revenue generator."
Nearby, three market-rate apartment buildings are under final design and have received bank funding according to a city report.
The news comes after years of talks but continued inactivity at the site where big red combines used to roll off the line.
"It's not like the city has not been interested," Thodos continued. "I just don't like building up expectations for something that goes flat."
"The Bend" has appropriately taken a number of twists and turns in concept and cost.
The first phase is now downsized to take up about one-third of the total site. Still, the project is attracting key players and could represent a $50-75-million investment according to Mayor Thodos.
Monday's briefing will be followed by decisions from East Moline's Planning and Zoning Commission. Developers expect to make a full presentation to aldermen on December 19, 2016. Until the deal is in place, the city is playing it safe.
"We're not spending any money, the city isn't, until we have foundations in the ground," Thodos said. "The commitment has to be there."
The project is poised to be a focal point for economic development. Construction that represents a transition from industry to tourism along the riverfront.
"Nobody wants this to work more than me," Thodos concluded.
One day, perhaps, turning "The Bend" out of some barren land in East Moline.