ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Rock Island's West End is one step closer to a refresh.
The West End Revitalization Committee revealed its three-year plan on Friday, March 22 at the MLK Center.
One of the committee members, Lynda Sargent, has lived in the West End her whole life.
"I grew up at a time when Rock Island's West End flourished and had everything you needed," Sargent said. "There were grocery stores, large grocery stores, and I could walk to four or five corner grocery stores. There was a movie theater right here where the Martin Luther King Center sits."
She said she's watched the West End struggle under years of underinvestment.
"It's very heartbreaking, to see so many empty properties, and so many dilapidated, neglected properties now, vacant lots," Sargent said, "and so my heart screams, I want to see this come back to life."
As part of the committee, she's able to help bring the neighborhood back.
"Every time I see, you know, I see something new happen in this section of the community, I want to see a whole lot of that," Sargent said. "I won't want to see it just happen, and then not happen again for 10 years, you know, I want to see a continuation."
The committee's three-year plan focuses on five impact areas for holistic benefit:
- Community Engagement: This gives West End residents more opportunities to participate in local governments, budgets and future plans.
- Personal Assets and Income: The plan includes new financial and banking resources to help grow residents' wealth.
- Housing and Land: The plan will seek to create tenant organizations and paths to homeownership.
- Community Economic Vitality: This will include youth mentorships and job opportunities.
- Infrastructure and Visual Appeal: Sites like Franklin Field may be acquired and beautified to the community's desires.
You can find the full three-year plan here.
One of the first steps in the plan is to create a community development corporation for the West End. It's a non-profit organization that offers more flexibility than a city department like the MLK Center, such as a tax-exempt status.
The plan is partially funded by a $300,000 grant given by the Quad Cities Community Foundation in January.
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