MOLINE - Built in the 1920s the historic Chase Bank building sits right in the heart of downtown Moline, on the corner of 5th Avenue and 15th Street.
"5th Avenue and 15th Street is really what I consider the intersection of our main streets downtown, so this is a critical corner," said Ray Forsythe, the city's Planning and Development Director.
The nine story building houses Chase Bank on the bottom floor with some offices on the upper Floors, however some of that space has sat vacant for more than a decade.
On Tuesday, September 12th, the city held a ribbon cutting, celebrating the opening of downtown's newest apartments called 5&15 Apartments.
"They`ve taken a property that was forgotten and neglected and made it into a beautiful asset for our community," said Mayor Stephanie Acri.
There's 31 market rate apartments, some furnished and some unfurnished. All of them have a modern look while still preserving some of the building's history. These are the first apartments in downtown Moline that really provides a view of downtown Moline and the Mississippi River.
Alex Mayszak was one of the first seven people to move in.
"I'm a history teacher myself so I'm really interested in the history this area and everything so that comes from old roots. There are a lot of neat elements about this property," said Mayszak.
As downtown Moline continues to grow the city says it's seeing more people wanting to live downtown. Right now, 99 percent of residential in downtown is occupied.
There are future projects in the works to add even more housing. Bids are due next week for proposals to transform the former Spiegel Warehouse into apartments and there's plans to add 150 apartments on the site of the former John Deere Collector Center.
"I think this area is really going to take off even more than before," said Mayszak.
Russell Construction Co. spent $3.5 million on the project.