MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, MAY 2007

Davenport
Dan Marcec

The Davenport commercial real estate market is seeing strong activity with positive development occurring across the board. Hospitality and retail projects are faring well, though the volume of development has slowed somewhat. The Quad City metro area, situated on either side of the Iowa/Illinois border, historically has been relatively balanced, but commercial development seems to thrive more on the Iowa side.

One of the main catalysts for development in the Davenport market is its location along Interstate 74, the main thoroughfare in the area. Generally, the Mississippi River flows from east to west through the region, with the Iowa side to the north and the Illinois side to the south, and I-74 provides the backbone of commercial development throughout.

“We respond to prospects for economic development in the region, supporting the Quad City development group, which receives private sector support for target industries such as advanced manufacturing, logistics, finance and information technology,” says Clayton Lloyd, director of the department of community and economic development for the city of Davenport.

“We pride ourselves as a foremost manufacturer of farm equipment,” Lloyd says. In that sector, John Deere and Caterpillar are strong, with Deere employing nearly 15,000 workers. A variety of other manufacturers, including Nestle, Purina, Kraft, Oscar Meyer and Alcoa, are significant players in the market as well. However, while Davenport retains a healthy commercial market in these manufacturing fields, it is looking to diversify, focusing on expansion to new industries, especially in high-tech companies.

One of the most significant announcements to come online in Davenport recently was the groundbreaking of a Cingular customer care center, which will create approximately 510 jobs. To have a commitment of this size is one of the largest single projects to break into the market in years, Lloyd says. Across the river in Moline, Illinois, another of the Quad Cities, Triumph Foods is developing a plant, which will add to the industrial base of the region.

Otherwise, there aren’t any major developments occurring, but the city is working with a number of companies to locate them in an industrial park called the East Iowa Industrial Center. In addition, a Deere distribution facility opened several years ago, and that is still positively impacting the market.

“We have a policy directed toward helping redevelopment in downtown Davenport, bringing public investments to that sector,” Lloyd says. Recently, the city received a $113 million grant to jump start the revitalization of its downtown, which has spurred the development of new parking, a $40 million conversion of the arts center, expansion of local theater, a business incubator for office development and the first new office building in downtown Davenport in 20 years.


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