Developers of the Shoppes at Duck Creek in Bettendorf want to build a Pizza Ranch restaurant and close one of the two entrances off Lincoln Road serving the shopping area.
The city's Board of Adjustment approved a special use permit to allow a drive-up window for the restaurant, and the city's Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan for the restaurant Wednesday (6/15).
Construction of a building to house offices and classrooms for a branch of Upper Iowa University is under way on the northeast corner of E. Kimberly and Lincoln Road.
The new restaurant would be built just east of the Upper Iowa facility and result in the closure of one of the two entrances on the south side of the shopping area.
City officials favor closing the roadway linking Lincoln and Middle Road through the development because motorists are cutting through the shopping area to avoid traffic and stoplights along Middle and East Kimberly.
The Shoppes of Duck Creek development will receive a total of $2.45 million over an 11-year period under a Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) deal with the city. Despite the incentives, the development has taken longer than expected to attract businesses to the area.
Burlington Coat Factory was the first store in the development and recently a Dunn's Bros. Coffee and a Red Ginger sushi bar opened.
