Creating New Central Davenport Neighborhoods

Updated: Oct 19, 2009 08:52 PM

The effort to revitalize Davenport's Hilltop Neighborhood is gaining steam. The area between PalmerCollege and Saint Ambrose has been undergoing a transition for the past few years. Now, there's another change in store. Homes are being cleared out at the corner of Perry and 9th Street making way for a brand new apartment complex.

"We know that getting more activity in an area is a great way to deal with not only the real, but perceived issues about crime," says Matt Flynn, Senior Manager of Davenport's Planning Department. Demolishing homes in crime ridden neighborhoods doesn't just crush crime. It also brings in new people. Flynn adds, "We want to encourage repopulation of the area, much of the central city has dropped in population and there's higher level of vacancies."

The new residents who will live in this area, will live in a new building. It's a student housing complex, part of an agreement between PalmerCollege and Oxbow Development.

The new 66-unit apartment complex will be primarily for Palmer students and, many are hoping it revitalize the area. "Love to see another grocery store, maybe another pharmacy, just new retailers to serve the new quantity of people living in the area," says Kelly Young with Oxbow Development.

The apartment complex called "Villas at Palmer", is part of the city and Palmer's vision for central Davenport. Making it a college friendly environment. "We're going to be cutting down on the traffic that clogs up our areas, esp. The Brady and Harrison corridors," adds Young.

And the plan is the "Villas at Palmer" will be the first in a long line of new development. "There's a lot of individuals that maybe can't take on a project like this, but they can certainly take an existing property and make them more viable for living," according to Young.

Construction will be completed by July 2010.