Rock Island Redevelopment by ChatGPT: Annika's Version

Annika OMelia
Aug 11
6 min read

As promised, I am going to release three different users' Chat GPT responses to the following prompt:

PROMPT: You are an expert in urban planning, economic development, and Midwestern history. Provide a detailed plan to revitalize Rock Island, Illinois, taking into account its historical development, current demographics, and geographic position within the Quad Cities region alongside Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, and East Moline. Include strategies that differentiate Rock Island from its neighbors while fostering collaboration across the river cities. Address key factors such as downtown redevelopment, riverfront usage, housing, business attraction and retention, tourism, transportation, and cultural assets. Draw on successful examples from other small-to-mid-sized Midwestern cities with similar industrial histories and riverfront locations. Provide both short-term (1–3 years) and long-term (5–15 years) recommendations, along with measurable outcomes for success.”

AI generated image of a "Diverse crowd of people gathered on the Mississippi River laughing and having fun"

Annika's Chat GPT came up with the following plan. Keep in mind this is a straight copy and paste, so this content has not been altered to address any factual or other errors.

Annika's Version

Love this brief. Here’s a practical, Rock-Island-first revitalization plan that plays to your unique strengths (Arsenal Island, Augustana, historic building stock, river views) and differentiates you from your neighbors while collaborating across the Quad Cities.

Where Rock Island Stands (quick facts to anchor the plan)

Population ~36.8k; median household income ≈ $57k; poverty ≈ 21% (2023 ACS/DataUSA). Data USA Census Data
Augustana College’s total Illinois economic impact ≈ $148M (FY2020) and it runs deep community programs; in 2025 it launched a College Hill district revitalization with the City and local businesses. Augustana College+1
Rock Island Arsenal underpins ~14,000 regional jobs and ≈ $1B annual economic impact. quadcitieschamber.comrepswanson.comillinoisdefense.uic.edu
The City’s adopted Downtown Revitalization Plan and “Rebuild Downtown” concepts include redoing the 2nd Ave pedestrian mall, a gateway to Schwiebert Park, dog park, parklets, public art, pop-ups, lighting, etc. hlplanning.comrigov.org
Schwiebert Riverfront Park already provides event space and removable floodwall protection—great bones to build on. ayresassociates.com

North-Star Positioning

“Rock Island = The Quad Cities’ riverfront arts + innovation campus.”Lean into: (1) student-powered neighborhood entrepreneurship (Augie + community), (2) defense & advanced manufacturing supplier ecosystem (Arsenal), and (3) an all-season riverfront culture scene tied to historic reuse.

Short-Term (1–3 years)

1) Downtown & College Hill “One Street” Makeover

Prioritize 2nd Ave + College Hill spine (Augustana → Downtown) with quick-build fixes: curb extensions, protected bike lanes, bus bulbs, street trees, warm lighting, and storefront micro-grants ($5–15k) to activate ground floors (signage, awnings, retractable windows, winter vestibules). Use the City’s downtown concepts as shovel-ready packages. rigov.org
Pop-up permit & kit-of-parts: 90-day pop-up code + city-owned parklet hardware residents can borrow; cut fees; permit in 10 days or it’s automatically approved.

Metrics (12–24 months): 30 active new/expanded storefronts; ground-floor vacancy down 25%; pedestrian counts +40%; retail sales up 10% on the corridor (tax data).

2) Augustana × Rock Island “Campus-to-Community” Engine

Student-run Business Studio: Offer 3 downtown shells at $1/year for 24 months for student/faculty ventures (coffee roastery, design studio, boutique production). Pair with micro-equity from local angels. Anchor within the new College Hill initiative to ensure continuous collaboration. Augustana College
Talent Stay program: Stipend 50 Augie grads/year who take local jobs or start a business downtown (similar to “returnships”).
Course-for-credit service: Planning, marketing, data viz, and accounting clinics for Rock Island small businesses each semester.

Metrics: 15 student ventures launched; 50 grads retained/year; 120 businesses counseled; 100 paid student internships in local firms.

3) Riverfront: “Schwiebert + Streetcar Landing” Pilot District

Gateway build-out from 2nd Ave to Schwiebert Park: programmable lighting, wayfinding, two new festival pads, weekly riverfront market, and winter-use amenities (fire pits, “light walk,” skate loop) to make it 12-month. rigov.orgayresassociates.com
Flood-smart operations plan modeled on Davenport’s resilience playbook (gate valves/backflow, deployable elements). Train to reopen quickly post-high water. davenportiowa.com davenportiowa.com Sasaki

Metrics: 100 event-days/year at Schwiebert; 200k annual visits; <15 days average post-flood recovery (operational KPI).

4) Housing Now: Missing-Middle & Attainable Rehab

Downtown/near-downtown rehab stack: Pair federal/state historic credits with a city “gap” TIF tool, modeled on Peoria Warehouse District incentives (share of increment to developer + public realm). Pre-approve design standards to compress timelines. ddcp
“20-in-20” program: 20 scattered-site rehabs in 20 months through a city-vetted developer pool; sell to owner-occupants with down-payment assistance; reserve units for workers at ≤80% AMI.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) code and fee waivers for first 50 ADUs.

Metrics: 150 new/rehab units; 50 ADUs permitted; downtown residential population +400.

5) Business Attraction & Retention (play to Arsenal & niche makers)

Supplier-to-Prime concierge: One-stop for ITAR training, cyber compliance, and match-making into the Arsenal/defense supply chain; coordinate with QC Chamber’s defense industry team. quadcitieschamber.com
Small-format manufacturing (furniture, bikes, ceramics, food labs) in underused buildings; convert with light-industrial “maker M1” zoning.

Metrics: 25 supplier matches; 150 new traded-sector jobs; 10 maker firms added.

6) Tourism & Culture: “River, Rails, & Revival”

Signature events calendar: Quarterly anchor festivals (winter lights, spring river arts, summer night markets, fall harvest on the levee).
Heritage trail & signage linking Arsenal overlooks, downtown, and College Hill, with AR wayfinding and public history stops (pair with Augustana history & GIS).
Artist-in-Residence (industrial reuse): Place artists inside active shops and mills; mini-grants for installations in shop windows.

Metrics: Hotel/motel tax +12%; 50k non-local event attendees; 100 public art commissions/refreshes.

7) Transportation that Works for Work

Quarter-hour bus on the spine (College Hill ↔ Downtown ↔ Schwiebert ↔ Arsenal Gate) during peak; free transfers to other QC lines.
Bike network gaps filled to riverfront; secure bike parking at every event pad; employer bike-benefit pilots.
Wayfinding & brand: One family of signs across Rock Island neighborhoods and riverfront.

Metrics: Transit ridership +20% on trunk; 8 miles of new protected lanes/neighborways; mode share for walking/biking +3 pts.

Long-Term (5–15 years)

A) Mill District–Style Reuse Cluster

Target a 6–10 block historic warehouse zone for phased residential/loft, creative office, and ground-floor making—explicitly emulate Dubuque’s Millwork District (phased, mixed-use, green infrastructure, anchor employers). weblink.cityofdubuque.org +1 US EPA
Brownfield readiness and site assembly using state/federal tools; Wisconsin’s data show strong fiscal returns from brownfield investments—use this to justify local matching. Wisconsin DNR University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

10-year Metrics: 1,000 new/rehab units; $250M private leverage; assessed value +$200M in district.

B) All-Season Riverfront + Resilience

Main Street-style landing on the Illinois side: winterized pavilion, ferry/boat docking expansion, and resilient landscapes, coordinated with Davenport’s riverfront upgrades to create complementary destinations (not copies). Sasaki
Historic flood-adaptation retrofits for ground floors (dry/wet floodproofing, raised utilities) using NPS best-practice guidelines to protect buildings without losing character. National Park Service

15-year Metrics: Riverfront open 350+ days/year; $50M in flood-hardening retrofits; insurance claims and recovery days cut in half.

C) Arsenal-Adjacent Innovation Campus

Secure a civilian-facing R&D and training hub near the Arsenal gate: prototyping labs, secure co-working, veteran-owned business incubator; partner with primes and the State’s defense manufacturing programs. illinoisdefense.uic.edu
Pair with workforce pipelines from Augustana and regional colleges (cyber, logistics, materials).

Metrics: 500 STEM/defense jobs added; 50 veteran-owned startups supported.

D) Inclusive Growth & Neighborhood Stabilization

Scale the “20-in-20” into a continuous block-by-block program; land trust pilot for permanent affordability around strong-market edges.
Welcome Center model (leveraging QC refugee/immigrant strengths) that bundles ESL, credential transfer, micro-enterprise help—building on scholarship about the QC’s immigrant contributions. Augustana College

Metrics: Citywide poverty −5 percentage points; homeownership +4 pts; code-compliant housing share +15 pts.

E) Education-Arts Super-Corridor

Powerhouse-style catalyst: Pursue a signature adaptive-reuse project (e.g., turbine hall/event hall + esports/indoor practice fields) on the riverfront—Beloit’s Powerhouse shows how a campus facility can unlock riverfront access and year-round use. National Park Service WEDC

Metrics: 300k annual users; $30M+ private/philanthropic funds leveraged.

How Rock Island Differentiates—While Collaborating

Differentiate: “Student-powered city” + “maker/defense suppliers” + “year-round river culture.” Bettendorf leans family suburban, Davenport leans big-river amenities and no floodwall identity, Moline has Deere & the I-74 bridge frontage—Rock Island can be the workshop and living room of the Quad Cities. Sasaki MPR News
Collaborate: Coordinate events and transit with Davenport’s Main Street Landing; cross-promote weekend itineraries (Davenport museum morning → Rock Island market night); align resilience and river operations so visitors can flow both banks without confusion. Sasaki

Funding & Delivery (stack the tools)

TIF + historic tax credits + brownfield grants (Peoria/Dubuque playbooks). ddcp wcbu.org US EPA
State/Federal: RAISE for complete streets; FEMA BRIC for flood projects; EDA Public Works for site prep; National Park Service guidance for historic floodproofing. National Park Service
Institutional partners: Augustana CDC, QC Chamber/Defense, local CDFIs, arts nonprofits. Augustana Collegequadcitieschamber.com

Scorecard (track publicly, update quarterly)

Economic: net new downtown jobs; business survival at 3 years; median wages; property value growth in target districts.Place: footfall counts; storefront occupancy; residential units added; park/event utilization days.Equity: share of city contracts to local/minority- and women-owned firms; housing affordability (rent-burdened share); poverty rate change.Resilience: days to reopen after high water; number of buildings with certified flood retrofits.

Why this can work here

You already have: a major employer “anchor” (Arsenal), a nationally recognized college ready to partner, a plan for downtown, and a beautiful riverfront with protection options. The case studies show the model: Dubuque turned warehouses + riverfront into a regional draw; Peoria used targeted TIF to unlock mixed-use in its Warehouse District; Beloit leveraged a campus-riverfront showpiece to catalyze the whole waterfront. Rock Island can do the same—with your own spin. US EPA weblink.cityofdubuque.org ddcp National Park Service

ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.