Ex-Eagle Food Center draws much interest

The future of the former Eagle Food Center store on 18th Street in Bettendorf is still up in the air, with several entities interested in buying the property from the city for commercial or retail use.

The store has been empty for eight years, since the now-defunct Eagle moved to a different location in 1999, and three different proposals for public use of the property have come and gone.

Most recently, a shared lease arrangement among the Bettendorf School District, Scott Community College and Iowa State University Scott County Extension Service unraveled in March when bids for rehabbing the property came in higher than expected and the school district pulled out.

Scott Community College officials subsequently began looking for new locations for its culinary arts and hotel management programs and may “pull the trigger” on one yet this month, said Brad Scott, director of the programs. In June, the Extension service bought a building it had been renting on Tanglefoot Lane.

City Administrator Decker Ploehn said several entities are in the “kicking-the-tires” stage of interest as far as buying the ex-Eagle property, and if nothing concrete pans out in 60-90 days, the City Council will want to talk about aggressive marketing of the property.

The city paid $1.25 million for the site in 2001, although it was valued at $2.5 million; the owner gifted $1.2 million in value to the city. It probably would sell for about $2 million now, Ploehn said.

While estimates for rehabbing the property for the proposed three-way project came in high, Ploehn said any kind of redevelopment would be possible, from totally renovating the building to rehabbing part of it to tearing it down and building new.

Because the property adjoins the city’s Learning Campus, home to the library and the Family Museum, the city will be interested in how any new use fits, including its appearance. “Compatibility is important,” he said.

Grants that were awarded to the city for development of the Bettendorf schools/Scott Community/Scott Extension project have gone back to the sources, he added.

Other uses that previously were considered for the property were a new city hall and the development of a performing arts center.

The city hall idea died when Bettendorf decided to build an addition to its existing location on State Street, and the performing arts proposal was dropped when it was determined the center would not be self-supporting.

Alma Gaul can be contacted at (563) 383-2324 or agaul@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

Extension buys office; Scott, Bettendorf Schools still looking

Iowa State University/Scott County Extension, Scott Community College and the Bettendorf School District all have gone ahead with plans for new quarters after the demise of a plan to move to the former Eagle supermarket. Here’s where their plans stand now:

-- Iowa State University/Scott County Extension

The Extension service purchased its building at 875 Tanglefoot Lane from the Mel Foster Co. at the end of June, paying $410,000 for the space it had rented since 1989.

A committee is developing a master plan for the grounds, hoping to turn it into a showplace. The committee hopes to have the plan nailed down by winter, completing it in stages as time and money permit.

-- Scott Community College

The college hopes to negotiate a lease yet this month on a site for its culinary arts and hospitality management programs, said Brad Scott, the director of those programs.

When the Eagle Food Center project was being considered, the college expected to lease 22,000 square feet of space that not only would house those programs, but also the interior design and environmental programs, and possibly a new entrepreneurship program, he said. Moving those programs out of the Bettendorf campus would have freed up classroom space that is at a premium, he added.

Now that the Eagle’s deal has fallen through, the college is looking for 9,000 to 11,000 square feet of space for just culinary arts and hospitality.

The college was awarded several grants from 2004 to 2006 for the Eagle’s move that it still will be able to use, including a state Accelerated Career Education, or ACE, grant for $366,000 to renovate any new space to suit its needs, he said.

The college also used a total of $73,800 from the Riverboat Development Authority, the Scott County Regional Authority and the Grow Iowa Value Fund to purchase equipment. Most of that is in storage, but some already is being used, he said.

“Right now, I’m a man without an island, but it’s going to happen,” Scott said of finding a new location.

--Bettendorf School District

District offices are temporarily housed at the old Neil Armstrong Elementary School building, but administrators are considering three options for a permanent location the district would own: Renovate a portion of the old Neil Armstrong, buy an existing building in Bettendorf, or construct a new building on property already owned by the district.

Those choices, however, hinge on the district selling the old Neil Armstrong property at 800 23rd St. The 6-acre property with the former school building and a football field has been on the market since June, offering potential buyers the option of buying the whole thing, just the building or just the football field.

Proceeds from the sale would go toward a new administrative project.

Superintendent Marty Lucas said the district still is hoping to find a buyer, but it is entertaining no concrete offers at this time.

— Alma Gaul