DAVENPORT, Iowa -- The next phase of construction on the Davenport riverfront could start as soon as this spring.
Work to remove concrete and parking lots where the old Rhythm City Casino used to dock recently wrapped up. The green space, known as Main Street Landing, is now a blank canvas for city engineers.
Landscape architect Zach Peterson says the city has entered the "really creative" part of the project.
"Oh yeah, it's what I live for. It's exciting, you know, just to get paid to dream big," said Peterson.
Next up, Peterson said, will be the construction of a "flex lot" across from the Radisson Hotel. The parking lot will include landscaping, seating, and room for food trucks to park.
Work on that lot is expected to start in the late spring or summer of 2018.
"By day, it can take on the role of a standard parking lot, but it's designed in such a way to be a functional, flexible event space," said Peterson.
Aside from the parking lot, there are only concepts, or ideas, for the additional space. Design teams have released images showing an amphitheater at the foot of the skybridge, as well as an event lawn and playground. While city leaders have expressed support for the concepts, there is no construction plan currently in place.
"Is it the game plan, and are we going to build these things? Don't know. I mean, those things obviously take money and other funding mechanisms to happen. So, right now, I'd say categorize that under 'pretty picture,'" said Peterson.
Peterson says the entire project could cost tens of millions of dollars, so the City Council will have to decide which parts to implement over the next several years.
He says city leaders are also still interested in some sort of public-private partnership, which could mean a restaurant or other commercial space. However, that would likely go at the foot of the skybridge, and not further down the riverfront where the former Dock restaurant used to sit.
