Davenport housing plan may boot Bucktown too
Davenport Junior Theatre is far from the only group that would be affected by the planned redevelopment of the 32-acre Annie Wittenmyer complex in the 2800 block of Eastern Avenue.
For the past 11 years, the Bucktown Americana Music Show has performed a monthly concert (formerly the Bucktown Revue, typically September-May) at the Nighswander Theatre, and an average of 10 other events are held annually in the 350-seat venue.
Chad Dyson, Davenport Parks & Recreation director, said Thursday that under the $40-million plan to create 99 units of rental housing on the site (including from 10 cottages currently used by Junior Theatre), the main theater use is yet to be determined.
“As it sits now, the main theater is not part of the developers’ plan and there is an option for the city to continue use,” Dyson said. Aside from the monthly Bucktown show, the theater has an average of 10-12 one time reservations of the space per year, and those include dance recitals, talent shows, graduations, pageants, and business meetings, he noted.
The developer has offered to allow the city to lease (for $1) and potentially buy-back (for $1) the current theater building if more time is needed. “The city recognizes the value the theatre program brings to the community and is committed to its long term success,” according to the Davenport Plan & Zoning Commission (Feb. 6 agenda).
At the Feb. 6 Plan and Zoning Commission meeting, the panel voted unanimously to recommend approval of the property’s rezoning for redevelopment, and that now moves on to the City Council for a public hearing and three readings.
Bucktown (a variety show with a house band that focuses on folk, bluegrass, and Celtic music) has been at Junior Theatre since the 2012-13 season, after a couple years at the former River Music Experience (now Common Chord) performance hall on the second floor, at 2nd and Main streets, Davenport.
“We’d been at the RME downtown and it didn’t have enough seating,” Bucktown founder and band leader Mike Romkey said recently. “There really aren’t a lot of smaller, mid-size theaters in the area. There are places like the Adler, Centennial, Galvin, but it’s hard to find a place — a church or an arts group where you can seat two or three hundred people.”
He knew the Annie Wittenmyer complex from when he was a kid and people kept suggesting it, and he had his doubts before Bucktown moved there.
“I checked it out and thought, this is perfect,” Romkey said, also wary of dealing with the city at first. “There couldn’t be nicer people to work with than the parks department and Junior Theatre. They are just excellent people.”
“It’s been a great home and we really enjoy working with the city,” he said. “We’re very aware of all the programming they do for kids. It’s been a home for a lot of community organizations — Junior Theatre, other arts organizations.”
On Jan. 24, after the Davenport City Council heard from many DJT supporters about their concerns for the beloved 72-year-old organization, aldermen all voted in favor of a plan to convey the property to developer Chris Ales for $1, to create 99 units of affordable housing on the nationally recognized campus. The council also pledged support to help DJT find a new location.
Romkey understands that the city and taxpayers don’t want to be responsible for paying millions in upkeep for an old facility, but it’s filled an invaluable role in the community.
“We’ll find some place to go — we’ll probably go to a church or something,” he said of the Bucktown show, which now usually runs the third Friday every month from August to May.
“My concern is once they lose their location — right now, they have exceptional leadership,” longtime Bucktown regular Korah Winn (Romkey’s wife) said. “If they don’t have a building and they don’t have strong leadership, then things could really crumble.”
No new buildings are planned and no existing structures are to be torn down.
Developer Ales has much experience in completing historic redevelopment projects, including several in Davenport (such as the renovation of the 1920 Capitol Theatre downtown and its 10-story Kahl Building into loft apartments.
Their Annie Wittenmyer plan would be to convert many of the structures to affordable rental housing, including 52 units for seniors and 47 units for families. The project would start construction in December 2025.
To accomplish this, the property requires a rezoning to C-T Commercial Transitional District as the current zoning classification does not allow housing.
Life always changes
Romkey is philosophical about the city plan, used to change.
“Things never stay the same,” he said. “Time marches on, but us aside, I think it’s been such a gigantic service to the community and to the children and to have that there. To sell it to a developer, for a dollar…”
“When you lose your location, you lose a lot of momentum and you’re just driftless,” Winn said.
“Every cataclysm is an opportunity,” Romkey said, noting DJT may find a generous patron in the community to help find a new location.
“It really is a service to the community and Davenport should value this,” Winn said. “Losing a home is hard, but maybe there’ll be people stepping up to the plate, seeing the need.”
If Bucktown moves to a church, it may change the informal vibe of the show, but Romkey said they will deal with that.
“That sort of thing doesn’t really frighten me anymore — at one time it would have,” he said. “Nothing stays the same. Every change is a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity. I think the show was one thing when it was at the Moline Club, another thing when it was at RME, and it’s another thing here. We’ll just evolve to fit the space — hopefully we’ll be bigger and better and fabulous. Maybe it’ll be smaller and more intimate; it just depends where we end up.”
The city Plan & Zoning Commission agenda on the Wittenmyer development says that the 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,” the commission agenda packet says. “To address these challenges, the City of Davenport approved a conditional purchase agreement with a developer whom has experience in historic preservation.”
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 city said.
The remaining timetable on the Wittenmyer project includes:
- Feb. 21/28: City Council public hearing/1st vote on rezoning
- March 6/13: City Council discussion/2nd vote on rezoning
- March 20/27: City Council discussion/final vote on rezoning
- September: Tax Credit (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) awards
- February 2025: Deadline to secure necessary funding
- Spring 2025: Council review/approval of plat/subdivision
- June 2025: Anticipated closing (transfer) of campus, Junior Theatre moves out of seven cottages
- Summer/Fall 2025: Construction/rehabilitation begins
- December 2025: Junior Theatre vacates three cottages
- December 2026: Construction complete – housing occupancy begins
What does Americana mean?
For the current season, Bucktown Revue rebranded as Bucktown Americana since that “describes the show much better than a revue,” Winn said.
“We’ve really tried to carve out rated E for everybody and two hours of happiness” as their brand, Romkey said. “That’s a little hard to enforce, with Steve Couch. Every once in a while, he goes off the rails.”
“Americana” is an umbrella term, with its own Grammy Award category — including the wide variety of folk music, such as bluegrass, Celtic, country, singer-songwriters, Romkey said.
“It’s really traditional music that our parents played and our grandparents played. And it’s not a big part of our show, but we’re serious about keeping old-time fiddle music alive,” he said. “You’re not gonna go to a bar and hear fiddle music.”
Winn said Bucktown also embodies musical and cultural preservation, continuing a priceless legacy.
“You gotta keep the music alive,” Romkey said.
“We are seeing more people looking for more authentic artists on Spotify,” Winn said. They cited Billy Strings, a charismatic flat-pick bluegrass guitarist with a huge following.
The Bucktown Valentine’s show will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16. The guests will include the folk duo Comfort Food, monster guitar picker Kenny Fox, and headliners, The Quartermoon Tinsnips.
Fox, from Walcott, is a Chet Atkins-style guitar player. “He was on in December; he’s awesome,” Romkey said.
For Bucktown tickets, click HERE. For more information on DJT, click HERE.
