MOLINE, Illinois - It's been a long process to bring new life to the old Aldi building.
"This is a really interesting development agreement in that we're just using the city of Moline property tax, new sales tax that's generated from the tenants that go in there and we're creating a business improvement district," said Ray Forsythe, Planning & Development Director.
The old building is going to be turned into new retail space.
"We're gonna divide this up into probably 7 or 8 retail stalls it's gonna have a campus feel," said Dan Dolan, Owner/Developer, Plaza on the Avenue.
Right next door to the old building will be more retail and a Starbucks.
"We're gonna have Starbucks on the corner and were gonna match the facade of the old Aldi building will have canopies and raised roofs," said Dolan.
An exciting opportunity for the old building to have new life but it's not the first time buildings have had a second chance.
"Downtown Moline a lot of the existing buildings have upper story residential in them and good restaurants and retail at the bottom," said Forsythe.
It's becoming a trend to turn old buildings into something new.
"It's a lot easier to renovate a building in some cases than to build new construction," said Forsythe.
This lot is seeing another trend, combining living and shopping spaces, included in this $11.4 million dollar plan is apartments.
"I'm gonna do age-restricted apartments where we can provide basic services a la carte. It seems like it's gonna be the low cost solution to assisted living," said Dolan.
That won't happen for some time, the renovations to the old Aldi building and the Starbucks come first.
"We put a six year window on the start of phase two. I've gotta get this filled and stabilized before we go on to the next phase," said Dolan.