How about a signature park?
That's one of the ideas Moline leaders have as they try to figure out what to do when the old I-74 bridge comes down.
"If you think about it, from the Mississippi River all the way up to 7th Avenue, all of that land is opening up," explained Ray Forsythe, Moline's Planning and Development Director.
"We negotiated with IDOT - the first time they've ever done that in the history of Illinois - to give the city of Moline the right of first refusal, so we will control all of that land and then we can create new residential, new office, and new retail," he said during WQAD News 8's interview with him on December 14th on Good Morning Quad Cities.
Forsythe said the city would also like to build a signature park between the old Kone building, which is now owned by Heritage Church, and the city's water treatment plant.
"The city controls about 95% of the land from East Moline to Rock Island along the riverfront... so we’re going to have a signature park where the existing bridge is so we can have big public events, green space, and be really accessible to the downtown," he added.
What's more - Forsythe said the new I-74 bridge is going to be the only federal interstate project in the entire country that has a bike and pedestrian path. If it's built, that path would end at Moline's brand new park.