MOLINE CENTRE PLAN

LECLAIRE WEB SUPPORT DISTRICT

DISTRICT CONCEPT

Redevelopment of the LeClaire Web Support District should focus on the creation of a tech-business campus along 19th Street from 7th Avenue to 4th Avenue, which will be central to the development of the High-tech Urban Living Zone.  As conceptualized, this campus would be marketed to businesses utilizing and/or providing such services as data storage and e-commerce that would benefit from the existing infrastructure. 

Unlike in a greenfield business park, a tech-business campus located in downtown Moline would offer goods and services within walking distance of the workplace, such as housing, daycare, restaurants, coffee shops, and many other amenities.  Instead of corporate sponsorship of a cafeteria, a daycare center, or a fitness center, existing and new downtown businesses would provide these services, in turn, allowing all downtown employees and community members to benefit.

EXISTING CONDITIONS

A string of underutilized and/or blighted properties runs down the 19th Street corridor, which offers an excellent opportunity for the coordinated redevelopment.  This street serves as a main entry point into downtown from I-74 and currently gives visitors and residents the initial perception of a blighted center City.

In the mid-1990s, the LeClaire Hotel was renovated as an apartment complex, leaving intact as much of the historic architecture and decorator elements as possible.  With 110 apartments, the LeClaire is the largest apartment complex in Moline Centre.  The LeClaire’s storefronts are currently underutilized, with inappropriate uses.

Deere & Company’s Information Technology Center is the anchor tenant in this district.  Not only does it employ several hundred people but draws other technology-related businesses to downtown.  Because of the IT Center’s presence, the area is serviced with wide bandwidth fiber optics and has a redundant power supply.

PLAN STATEGY

Long-term planning for the block south of the LeClaire Block should include space for potential expansion of or enhancements to Deere & Company’s 19th Street facility.

The former LeClaire Hotel is an icon of Moline Centre and should continue to serve as an identifier for years to come.  With the development of the tech-business campus and increased downtown housing density, the economics of the entire district will change, making the building’s first floor storefronts viable for retail and service businesses. 

A mid-LeClaire block courtyard would continue the streetscape and greenspace onto 5th Avenue.  This courtyard would continue to provide parking as well as serve as open space for those living in apartments on the LeClaire Block.  Additionally, the western end of the courtyard could be utilized as an outdoor play area for the proposed daycare facility.

To increase downtown density, additional downtown apartments should be constructed on this block.  To assist with employee and residential parking, a single-level parking structure should be built.  On the 19th Street face, the ramp should have a retail façade that is a part of the tech-business campus, proving service businesses with storefronts.

DESIGN STRATEGY

The LeClaire Web Support District was built on the edge of the central business district in which “fringe” services, such as gas stations and automotive garages, have been located.  The general architecture of the area is on-story block buildings with opaque walls, built in approximately the mid-1920s.  The key or landmark elements within this district include Stephens Square Park, the LeClaire, and the Deere & Company IT Center, and to a lesser degree, the historic post office.

The design strategy if the LeClaire Web Support District is to create a business campus that incorporates the formal landscaping features of Stephens Park while maintaining the integrity of the 19th Street streetface.  New buildings should be scaled to a medium height of two to three stories to begin to tie the district in with the scale of the Main Street Retail District.