Iowa Great places gives $286,000 grant to Davenport

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By Tory Brecht | Thursday, August 7, 2008 10:02 PM CDT | () comments

Slippery wintery weather on the way to Des Moines forced Davenport officials to miss a ceremony officially naming the city an Iowa Great Place last February.

But on a picture-perfect August day, Davenport got an even better gift from Des Moines — actual money to go along with the designation.

The city received a $286,000 Iowa Great Places grant for completion of the “Active Recreation Corridor” in Centennial Park, a major RiverVision project.

“This will certainly help towards completing the $3.7 million Centennial Park project, which is one portion of the total $30 million RiverVision Plan,” Mayor Bill Gluba said, adding that the city hopes to raise most of the funds needed for RiverVision from federal and state sources over the next 10 years.

“My goal is to make our Mississippi riverfront, in conjunction with the city of Rock Island, the most magnificent riverfront destination between New Orleans and Minneapolis-St. Paul,” Gluba said.

A review panel, consisting of three Great Places board members and three state agency representatives, approved the $286,000 grant. In a release, the panel members said they thought the Davenport project “has great potential to be a major recreational, tourist and cultural draw for the region and the state.”

Currently under construction, Centennial Park will have a complex of two full, tournament quality basketball courts, a youth half-court, a concession/restroom pavilion, a stage, as well as picnic and informal play areas west of the skatepark.

Surrounding the active recreation elements along River Drive will be streetscape and landscape borders designed to support multiple uses, including spectator viewing, active recreation participant rest area, family play and picnicking.

Steve Ahrens, the Davenport Levee Improvement Commission’s development director, said the Great Places grant is an “unprecedented investment of public and private dollars” that will take community development to a whole new level.

Investing in Centennial Park and other “livability” improvements support neighborhood revitalization, tourism expansion and business growth, Ahrens said.

“Receipt of this grant not only recognizes, but also tremendously enhances, these efforts,” he said.

Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.