The Agurban E-Zine Issue 97

Downtowns and Riverfronts…Recreating Your Assets

Moline, Illinois (Pop. 43,768) is one of the four cities making up the Quad Cities. This town has and continues to do an amazing job recreating itself through the efforts of the City of Moline and Renew Moline, the private/public partnership created to assist the city in implementing The Moline Centre Plan. The Plan’s success is attributed to the Moline Centre Project Management Team (PMT)/ Design Build Management Team (DBMT) development process, which recently earned the City of Moline and Renew Moline the Multi-Year Economic Development Program Results Performance Award presented by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) on September 19, 2006 at their annual conference in New York City.

This model has guided the redevelopment of Moline’s dilapidated downtown and unsightly riverfront resulting in nearly $200 million worth of public and private investments in renovation and newly built properties in the area. The redevelopment has created over 1,000 new jobs in the downtown area so far.

The Moline Centre PMT/DBMT process was created more than 15 years ago to assist developers, businesses and property owners in preparing development plans and in searching for assistance programs and project approval procedures while escaping many political and special interest issues that can interfere with development projects. Through this approach, the City and Renew Moline have been able to obtain higher land and building investment values while producing superior design quality in construction. These higher development values have allowed the City to make necessary public improvements such as beautiful streetscapes, vital infrastructure and environmental cleanup through use of public resources. "The Mississippi River is our community’s single greatest resource," says Moline Mayor Don Welvaert.

Moline is really taking advantage of this resource and continually attracting new businesses to come and take advantage of this resource as well. To learn more about The Moline Centre PMT/DBMT Process visit http://www.renewmoline.com. How are you utilizing your greatest resources?

The Blog Log

Visit my weblog to see where I’ve been and what I learned along the way. This week I blogged on generosity in the heartland, the amazing action in Wimbledon, ND, and a gem in PA as well as several other topics. http://www.boomtowninstitute.com

On the Road Again

In addition to my travel blog I’ll list my upcoming engagements in each issue of The Agurban. Come see me when I’m in your neighborhood!

Jack’s Schedule – Week of October 16, 2006

Wednesday, October 18 – Devil’s Lake, ND

Thursday, October 19 – Madison County, NY

NOW AVAILABLE IN PRINT!!! Boomtown Institute’s ABC Volume One, Enriching Your Community One Letter at a Time! Order yours today at http://www.boomtowninstitute.com. Quantity discounts available!

Jack Schultz is the CEO of Boomtown Institute and Agracel Inc., an industrial development firm majoring in rural America, author of Boomtown USA, and speaker. Boomtown Institute serves as an economic development mentor to communities across the United States, leading communities to realize their full potential.
Visit the Boomtown Institute website at http://www.boomtowninstitute.com
Keep up with Jack as he tours the country on his blog!
To learn more about Agracel visit http://www.agracel.com