An old building in downtown Davenport has new life tonight, after the city redeveloped it into lofts. It’s part of a new trend in housing that’s popping up in the area.
"We came to Davenport probably around 10 years ago. We were recruited by local members of the community and it was really to address this neighborhood which at the time hadn't seen any redevelopment,” says Joe Alexander, President of Alexander Company.
Since then the city of Davenport has really been working on revitalizing its downtown. On Thursday a ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the new Kerker Lofts. Just across the street are two apartments that are fairly new. They are all part of the Crescents Lofts projects.
"We seemed to bale to fill them all up before they're even finished, so the more of this we can bring into the downtown area the better off we are,” says Davenport Alderman, Bill Boom.
Davenport has seen a growing demand for downtown living. Kerker Lofts opened its leasing in August and by the first of September they were already full. Talitha Davidson-Bell just moved into the new lofts. The lofts have all original flooring and wooden beams, which is one of the reasons why she chose the lofts.
"What drew me here is you know partially they're reusing a building so we're keeping some you know character within the community,” says Davidson-Bell.
The city of Davenport is just getting started when it comes to projects.
"As matter of fact there's several other buildings right in the immediate area that are going to undergo the knife pretty soon,” says Alderman Boom.
The city of Davenport thinks downtown living is a growing trend in all cities.
"Rising fuel cost, transportation cost, are bringing people back to the central city, they are starting to appreciate the original roots of where their cities have grown up from,” says Alderman Boom.
The third phase of the project will take place next door at Quad City Tires, where they will put more lofts.