Ground Breaking

These are such exciting times! We had our ground breaking ceremony on August 23, 2017. We listened to several speakers talk about their involvement with making this project a reality. They all seemed very excited about tearing down the old Twin Bridges Motel. The Mayor talked about what a drain that site has been on our community for the past several years. He told us how many times the police and fire departments had been called out to problems at this site (hundreds of times per year). He was grateful that those days are behind us.
Then there was talk of the future. All of the amazing plans that Bettendorf has in the works. The beautiful, pedestrian friendly downtown that will be right around the corner from us and include so many great places to shop, work and play. Kevin Koellner, President of Build to Suit, our general contractor, talked about how excited he and his guys are that they are helping make this project a reality.

Of course we heard from our fearless leader, Frank Levy, President of Newbury Living. He had a mighty long list of people and organizations to thank who helped make this day possible. It was a long road and without the overwhelming support we have had here in Bettendorf, we would never have made it this far.
Don’t get me wrong. There is still a long road ahead. The old blue roofed building is a thing of the past, just rubble lays in the lot now. Building one hundred and thirty two modern upscale lofts, along with all of the amenities people will love, isn’t going to happen overnight. We will have good months and bad. Will the winter hold off long enough for us to pull ahead, or will it come early and delay our timeline? Will the rainy spring cause us headaches or will we get lucky? These are the unknowns that come with new construction. One thing I can tell you for sure. It will all be worth the wait in the end.

We ended our ceremony with all of our speakers taking a turn with the sledge hammers against the old building. I will say, they knew how to build them back in those days! That thing didn’t want to break. Not to worry, it was no match for these guys. We felt like the whole city showed up to show their support. This is what we love about this town. All in all, it was a great day. The theme of the day… Out with the old, and in with the new!