Davenport to vote on Wittenmyer campus rezoning
Davenport Junior Theatre is facing the last step before its fate may be sealed.
The Davenport City Council will take a final vote Wednesday on rezoning of its home, the Annie Wittenmyer Campus, in the 2800 block of Eastern Avenue, to allow a $40-million redevelopment of the site (including 10 cottages) into 99 units of affordable housing.
In late January, after hearing from many DJT supporters about their concerns for the beloved 73-year-old organization, aldermen all voted in favor of a plan by developer Chris Ales to create affordable housing on the nationally recognized campus. The council approved selling the 32-acre property for $1.
The project would not touch the 1905 former chapel, the 350-seat Mary Fluhrer Nighswander Theater, which presents DJT mainstage shows and hosts the Bucktown Americana Music Show every month (third Fridays from August to May). The city would have the option to buy or lease back the theater building (for $1 a year) for up to five years.
The city of Davenport is requesting a rezoning to C-T Commercial Transitional District and Planned Unit Development, which was approved in February by the Plan & Zoning Commission.
The commission recommendation said:
The zoning map amendment is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and adopted land use policies.
The proposed zoning map amendment to C-T Commercial Transitional District is compatible with existing on-site uses and the zoning of nearby developed property.
The rezoning request is compatible with the established neighborhood character.
The proposed amendment will not negatively impact the public health, safety, and welfare of the city.
The zoning map amendment facilitates the adaptive redevelopment of a national and local historic landmark.
The nonconformities created by the zoning map amendment will be mitigated through the planned unit development process.
The City Council will vote on the rezoning at its regular meeting Wednesday, March 27, at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, 226 W. 4th St.
The P & Z Commission wrote than given the history of the property as both a Civil War training camp and children’s orphanage, the Annie Wittenmyer Complex has a character that is truly unique. “Many structures on the campus were built pre-1900 and are in a state of deterioration. To address these challenges, the City of Davenport approved a conditional purchase agreement with a developer whom has experience in historic preservation,” the city memo council says.
The rezoning to C-T Commercial Transitional District, along with the Planned Unit Development, are intended to accommodate adaptive reuse of the property in a manner that is sympathetic to the historic campus and the surrounding neighborhoods.
The subject property is surrounded by open space in the form of Eastern Avenue Park to the north and Oakdale Cemetery to the east. The preliminary plan submitted by the developer includes preservation of the green space at the northwest corner of the property, the memo says.
No demolition, no new buildings
This area contains floodplain and will remain undeveloped. In addition, the master planned campus will be preserved under this proposal. Due to the historic nature of the site, no new buildings are proposed.
While the developer does not intend to construct new buildings, it should be noted that the C-T Commercial Transitional District has dimensional standards that mitigate impacts on surrounding residential properties, with the maximum district height of 35 feet.
The existing railroad tracks will continue to serve as a barrier between the campus and the adjacent neighborhood to the west. If the property were to be redeveloped, the current Zoning Ordinance contains design standards that ensure compatibility with the neighborhood character, the memo says.
The standards require facades to incorporate a unifying architectural theme, including windows, prominent entrances, projections, and quality building materials. In addition, the Annie Wittenmyer Complex is a local landmark.
Therefore, any exterior alterations to the buildings or site improvements will require approval from the Historic Preservation Commission. It is staff’s opinion the proposed zoning district and the planned unit development will ensure compatibility with the established neighborhood character, the memo says.
Terms of sale
Among the terms of the city’s sale to Ales are:
Termination of the option if unable to secure the necessary funding
If funding is secured, transfer would occur on/by June 30, 2025
City would retain ownership of the aquatic center
Developer would retain/improve the historic structures
Developer would create roughly 100 housing units, senior and family, primarily affordable
Developer intends to work with as many existing tenants as possible to retain on campus
City could lease 3 cottages adjacent to the theater building for $1 for an additional 6 months
City could lease theater building for $1 and buy it back (for $1) during a 5-year period, if desired.
Many concerns
One of many emails of concern to the city is from Abbie Carpenter, a DJT alum and former staffer. She wrote that the theater and dance programs as they are can NOT function with only the theatre building.
“The theatre building may be where students perform and share their newly acquired skills, but it simply is not enough to house the massive program this has become. For example, one of the best parts of DJT as an alumni and former staff member is summer camp,” she wrote in January.
“Each summer, DJT hosts several performing arts camps, which take up each and every available space the program currently has, and even that is not enough! Kids have to be turned away from camp every year because there just isn’t enough room for more of them,” Carpenter said.
“So how, I ask, can this wonderful and extremely well attended program be expected to function without the cottages?
“I have heard whisperings of partnering with the Davenport Schools, which I must say, as a former teacher, is absolutely unfeasible,” she wrote. “If the program is spread out across the city, it will be much harder for parents to locate the correct place for their child’s class, for one.
“Another point is the lack of support staff if the program is spread out. Currently, if a teacher is in need of support in their classroom for any reason, for anything from behavioral issues to a medical emergency, they can contact the front desk and someone will be there to help within minutes or even seconds,” Carpenter wrote.
“If these needs arise and a teacher is alone with their class with no support staff nearby, what is that teacher meant to do?
“This plan is a logistical nightmare and a disaster waiting to happen,” she said. “If I could describe the best possible outcome of this situation, it would be that DJT has the time, support, and funding to seek out another facility which could perhaps provide an even better home for its programming.
“Whether that facility exists or needs to be built, the city of Davenport must help DJT find this new home, should it be removed from its current one,” Carpenter said, and the mayor and aldermen all have pledged support for that help. “All I am asking for is that proper consideration be given to Davenport Junior Theatre and its future. After all it has done for the greater Quad Cities community, that is the least you can do for it.”
Upon this rezoning approval, the next step is for the developer to submit their application to the state of Iowa for Low Income Housing Tax Credits, said Bruce Berger, Davenport’s director of community and economic development. “That is likely one several applications the developer will pursue (at the state and federal levels) in the coming months to secure sufficient funding.
To see the complete March 27 agenda packet, click HERE.
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