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HEARTLAND SNAPSHOT, OCTOBER 2006
Quad Cities
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Jeffrey S. Miller, Partner,
Premier Partners
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With medical office development leading the pack in the Quad Cities’ market, an active retail development market has maintained a close second place. General office and industrial development continues to be sluggish, with most activity being relocation or expansion of local companies to owner-occupied new construction. Assisted living facilities are another segment that is gaining market share.
Jeff O’Rourke is developing an 80-acre mixed-use tract at the southwest corner of East 53rd Street and Eastern Avenue in Davenport, Iowa. The city of Davenport is finalizing plans to extend and widen 67th Street east from Brady Street to Utica Ridge Road. This will open up approximately 3.5 miles of new development to serve retail, commercial and residential uses. Raufheisen Development is developing approximately 20 acres on John Deere Expressway in Illinois to accommodate growth for Highland Toyota and Bank of Orion.
The Interstate 74 corridor at 53rd Street in Iowa and at John Deere Expressway in Illinois continues to see the most active retail development due to local traffic patterns and demographic base. Big box retailers are active in the area’s submarkets, such as West Kimberly Road in Davenport, 11th Street in Rock Island and Silvis, Illinois.
The most active developers in the Quad Cities region include SJ Russell, Genesis Health Systems, THF, Build-to-Suit, Inc. Equity Growth Group, Raufheisen Development, First Equity and Jeff O’Rourke.
The Quad Cities area is experiencing an influx of new retailers including Schnuck’s Grocery at Duck Creek Plaza in Bettendorf, Iowa. Construction is underway for The Great Escape on Elmore Avenue in Davenport. Fuddruckers, La-Z-Boy Furniture, Guitar Center, Red Robin, Cold Stone Creamery and San Francisco Oven are also all newcomers to the area.
Davenport has seen a variety of recent lease transactions including Lee Enterprises’ 45,000-square-foot deal and McGladrey & Pullen’s lease of 25,000 square feet, both within Mississippi Plaza, at 201 N. Harrison St. Great Escape has leased 40,000 square feet at 4600 Elmore Ave.; Guitar Center recently leased a 20,000-square-foot space at 3850 Elmore Ave.; and Merrill Lynch leased 15,100 square feet in Birchwood Fields Office Park. In Bettendorf, Schnuck’s Grocery signed a deal for 63,700 square feet in Duck Creek Plaza and Orthopedic & Rheumatology Associates (ORA) leased 76,000 square feet within Crow Valley Plaza Business Park. Old Navy has recently leased 40,000 square feet in SouthPark Mall, moving into the Moline, Illinois, market.
The vacancy rates for office space is typically class specific, but ranges from 8 to 15 percent. Industrial vacancy rates, although dependent on the facility’s age, range from 5 to 12 percent.
— Jeffrey S. Miller, SIOR, is a partner at Premier Partners in Davenport, Iowa.
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