Rock Island Today

The annual meeting of the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) offered an update from the Quad Cities Chamber on how the area is faring through COVID-19 pandemic and recent flooding in the area. 

The DDP is a sector of the Quad Cities Chamber that was put in place to oversee the Downtown Davenport Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District with leadership strategies and methods to help improve the economic, cultural, and environmental structure of the area. DDP Executive Director Kyle Carter said downtown has continued to thrive despite two major crises.

“Downtown businesses continue to be resilient in the face of an extraordinarily challenging situation,” the Quad Cities Chamber reported. “The one-two punch of record flooding and COVID-19 has brought the downtown community together, and the Quad Cities’ has shown amazing support for the small businesses that make up the backbone of our local economy.”

In light of the flooding and coronavirus pandemic, 12 projects at the cost of $7.5 million were completed between July 2019 to June 2020. There is still roughly $48 million worth of projects that have yet to be completed, along with an additional $70 million set aside for future projects. Ultimately, downtown Davenport investments have come with a price tag of more than $600 million in the last 20 years. 

The meeting also covered public and private partnerships between DDP and the City of Davenport, as well as how DDP can help provide assistance to businesses in the downtown area that have been hit hard by COVID-19. Progression on the Strategic Master Plan for downtown’s financial and culture future was also a topic of conversation at the annual meeting.

The public can view the presentation from the meeting online. The meeting audio is also available online.