THE LANDING: A Premier Project - In The Works!

The Landing is a PREMIER PROJECT - Community Aquatic Facility & Ice Rink - NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION through a PREMIER PARTNERSHIP between the City of Bettendorf and the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley. As you scroll down this page, you will find renderings of what The Landing will look like when it's finished, a timeline of the project, a live stream of the construction site, as well as important updates. We have also provided an overview of The Landing here.

Questions? You can email [email protected] and we will answer them for you!

TASK	ESTIMATED TIME FRAME	PROGRESS STATUS	RESPONSIBILITY
Approved Shared Use Agreement with YMCA & Professional Services Contract with RDG	October 2022	Complete	City of Bettendorf/YMCA
Schematic Design	October 2022	Complete	RDG Design Team
Design Development	November 2022	Complete	RDG Design Team
Construction Documents	January 2023-March 2023	Complete	RDG Design Team
Bidding Phase	April 2023	Complete	City of Bettendorf/RDG Design Team
Construction	June 2023-May 2025	In Progress	General Constructors, Inc.

LIVE STREAM of Construction Site at The Landing:

UPDATES
October 11, 2024 - Coming This Holiday Season... The Landing Ice Rink!

The City of Bettendorf is getting closer to completing its brand-new amenity for the community! The Landing Ice Rink (2255 Middle Road) is a permanent outdoor ice rink that is nearly 40% bigger than the City's former temporary ice rink, Frozen Landing, which was set up and taken down every year from 2015-2022 and saw an average of 14,000 visitors each season. The Landing Ice Rink is expected to open to the public this holiday season, though an exact date has not been set yet. Crews with General Constructors, Inc. (GCI) are working diligently to finish all its features, including several new buildings that will provide climate-controlled restrooms, concessions, and warming areas as well as outdoor gas firepits with seating and a skating experience unlike anything in our area. Concrete for the 11,000+ square foot ice rink was successfully poured on October 4^th representing a major milestone in the construction process.

HIRING NOW: As GCI continues its work, the City is ready to hire Ice Rink Attendants and Clerks for the 2024-2025 Season! For more information, click here.

THE LANDING LOGO: With the first half of The Landing nearly finished, the City is revealing a brand-new logo that encapsulates both the ice side and the water side of this transformational project at the corner of Middle Road and 23^rd Street:
Designed By: Elly Gerdts, Marketing Coordinator at the Family Museum

BE IN THE KNOW: The water side of The Landing includes a state-of-the-art aquatic facility, which is still expected to open in early summer 2025. You can find updates, designs, a livestream of the construction site, and more on this web page!

For information specific to The Landing Ice Rink such as hours, admission rates, and special events, be sure to bookmark this web page.

If you would like to receive alerts about The Landing Ice Rink on your phone or in your inbox, click here and click "Text/Email Notifications" to update/set up your Alert Iowa Profile and opt-in to a new list created by the City entitled "The Landing Ice Rink."

"The City is very excited to share this brand new amenity with the community," said Kim Kidwell, Culture & Recreation Director. "The Landing Ice Rink will be a place where families can spend time outdoors in the winter surrounded by a beautiful lodge, modern amenities, and have the opportunity to engage in additional winter programming and activities. We have many fun new things planned, so stay tuned!"

"This is a great leap forward in the amenity that we previously offered and we have a lot of excitement of what this attraction will do for the whole center of our City and the region as a whole," said Decker Ploehn, City Administrator. "We thank our design engineering firm of RDG and their partners, our construction partner GCI for their hard work, and we're extremely grateful for all the donors who helped make this monumental project possible!"

August 6, 2024 - Progress Update

If you've driven by The Landing recently, you've probably noticed a lot more color! Here are the latest updates:

• Slide Tower: The tower steel installation is complete. Installation has begun on the slides themselves.
• Lazy River: Construction is complete including artificial rock formations and waterfalls.
• Splash Pad: Construction is complete including play structure.
• Buildings: Work continues on exterior treatments, with window installation starting soon.
• Ice Rink: The perimeter foundation wall and light pole bases are expected to be poured in mid-August, weather permitting. The construction of the rink base will follow.
• Parking Lots: The concrete curb and gutter is complete. Asphalt paving will occur closer to the completion of the buildings.

The ice rink is still on schedule to be completed in November 2024 and the aquatic facility is still on schedule to be completed in May 2025!

May 23, 2024 - Progress Update

You are about to see progress go skyward at The Landing! Here are the latest updates:

• Slide Tower: The steel is about to be assembled for the three-story-high tower that will feature three slides.
• Lazy River: Work is finishing up on the concrete walls and floor.
• Buildings: Exterior materials are being applied.
• Ice Rink: On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, City Council approved a resolution that officially adds the construction of the permanent ice rink to GCI's contract, which currently includes the construction of the state-of-the-art aquatic facility and four supporting buildings that will be used for both amenities.

The ice rink is still on schedule to be completed in November 2024 and the aquatic facility is still on schedule to be completed in May 2025!

April 16, 2024 - Progress Update

There is a lot of progress taking place at The Landing! Here are the latest updates:

• Main Activity Pool: All the concrete work is complete.
• Lazy River: All underground piping is complete. Work on the walls and floor is in progress.
• Slide Tower: The foundation and plunge pool are complete. The steel for the tower is on-site. The slides are expected to arrive soon.
• Building A (Bathhouse & Zamboni Storage Building): The masonry walls and roof are complete. Electrical and plumbing rough-ins are in progress.
• Building B (Community Warming House): The steel superstructure is complete along with masonry for the chimney. Additional framing is expected to begin soon.
• Building C (Pool Admissions & Administration Building): The steel superstructure is complete. Additional framing is expected to begin soon.
• Building D (Pool Mechanical Building): The masonry walls and roof are complete. Electrical and plumbing rough-ins are in progress.
• Main Parking Lot (South of The Landing): The rock subbase is in place and concrete curb as well as gutter islands are constructed. Paving will occur this summer.
• Ice Rink: The design is complete with a change order coming soon to City Council for consideration to officially add the ice rink to the construction contract.

February 12, 2024 - Bettendorf and the YMCA Announce New Timeline for The Landing

The City of Bettendorf and the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley are announcing a new timeline for The Landing, which results in the opening of a permanent outdoor ice rink in November 2024 followed by a state-of-the-art aquatic facility in 2025.

"We are committed to building these two premier amenities for the community in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective environment," said Decker Ploehn, City Administrator. "We are experiencing some challenges that are out of our control, but we believe this new timeline is the best way forward to fulfill our commitment."

Due to significant delays in the state permitting process as well as supply chain issues, the initial goal of opening one part of the aquatic facility - the 12,500-square-foot activity pool - in May 2024 needs to be pushed back to mid-July 2024, which is too late to start a safe pool season:

"We are looking forward to opening the aquatic side of The Landing, but unfortunately the timing is not looking good for the summer of 2024," said Brad Martell, CEO of the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley, which will operate the aquatic facility. "We will need 35 lifeguards to staff it and trying to find this many lifeguards at the end of the season would be difficult. We all feel it would be better to wait until 2025 when everything is completed."

"Activating a pool doesn't happen overnight," added Ploehn. "Even if construction is finished in mid-July, the state needs to test the pool which could take days or even weeks."

In response to these challenges and concerns, the City, the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley, and General Constructors, Inc. (GCI) have decided to keep construction going through 2024. This will allow crews to complete the remainder of the aquatic facility - a three-story-high slide tower with three slides, a 430-foot-long lazy river, and a 3,700-square-foot splash pad - by May 2025 as well as the entire ice rink by November 2024.

"While we understand this means there will be another season without a community pool in Bettendorf, we are very excited that the ice rink will be completed earlier than expected," said Ploehn. "We're very pleased with RDG's design, GCI's progress, and - rest assured - the City is planning a wonderful grand opening of this brand-new ice amenity and, together with the Y, will hold another one for our brand-new water amenity only six months later."

January 5, 2024 - 7 Months Into Construction

• Pool mechanical building masonry walls and roof are complete.
• Bath house masonry walls are complete and roof trusses have been installed.
• Pool admission building and ice rink warming building foundations are complete. Waiting for steel to arrive for wall construction.
• Pool concrete work - including walls, floors, steps and ninja obstacle course foundation - is substantially complete with last section of pool wall being poured soon.
• More than a mile of underground pool, lazy river and spray ground piping has been installed.
• Foundations for the slide tower are currently being constructed near the corner of Middle Road and 23^rd Street.
• Site utilities are substantially completed including new water, sanitary sewer, electric, and gas services.
• South parking lot has been graded with new rock subbase and concrete curb and gutter mostly complete.

December 9, 2023 - 23^rd Street Traffic Flow Changing As Work Progresses on The Landing

Beginning Monday, December 11^th, work begins on 23^rd Street near Middle Road as crews install new water service to The Landing.

To ensure the safety of the traveling public and the construction workers onsite, 23^rd Street will become a one-way street traveling south from Middle Road to Lincoln Road for the duration of the project and a detour will be in place for traffic traveling north (See Detour Map Here).

This project is expected to take approximately two weeks, weather permitting.

September 18, 2023 - 3 Months Into Construction

• Demolition is complete.
• Site work - including utility installation and parking lot construction - are well underway.
• The pool mechanical building and bath house foundations are complete, along with footings for the ice rink warming building.
• All four buildings, including the admissions building which will begin excavation next week, are expected to go vertical very soon.
• Floor sections of the zero-depth entry area of the main activity pool will also be poured this coming week.

July 25, 2023 - Demolition Nearly Complete

• Demolition of the existing facility is substantially complete.
• Site grading for the aquatic facility and building areas is also mostly complete.
• Excavation and shoring for the main activity pool has begun.
• Construction on the pool mechanical building is expected to begin on Wednesday, July 26.

June 2, 2023 - Groundbreaking Ceremony of The Landing


June 1, 2023 - The Landing Awarded $790,000 Grant

The City of Bettendorf and the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley are excited to announce that The Landing has been awarded a $790,000 CAT (Community Action and Tourism) Grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority thanks, in part, to The Landing Community Campaign which raised $14,712 from 97 donors between May 15th and June 1st, 2023.

May 26, 2023 - The Landing Groundbreaking Ceremony Announced
On Friday, June 2^nd at 9am, the City is going to kick off its day-long 120^th Birthday Community Celebration with a Groundbreaking Ceremony at The Landing.

The event will include remarks by Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher, YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley Board Chair Mo Hyder, RDG Planning & Design, and General Constructors, Inc. (GCI) - which was chosen by Bettendorf City Council in early May 2023 to construct a large component of this multi-million-dollar project.

May 15, 2023 - The Landing Community Campaign

WE NEED YOUR HELP! As part of our funding model, the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley and the City of Bettendorf have applied for the Iowa Economic Development Authority's CAT (Community Action and Tourism) Grant.

On May 4, the Enhance Iowa Board heard our presentation and asked their staff for a recommendation. Their staff recommended a grant of $750,000, but in order to secure that money the board wanted to see more community participation in the fundraising.

This is why we need your help. We are asking for a contribution - big or small - to show your support for this PREMIER PROJECT and PARTNERSHIP: www.bettendorf.org/TheLandingCommunityCampaign

May 2, 2023 - Construction on The Landing Set to Begin

The City of Bettendorf is excited to announce that General Constructors, Inc. (GCI) of Bettendorf has been chosen out of three bidders to construct a large component of The Landing - a state-of-the-art aquatic facility - at the corner of 23rd Street and Middle Road.

On Tuesday, May 2, 2023, Bettendorf City Council unanimously approved a contract awarding GCI as the General Contractor of this $18 million construction project, which will occur in two phases to ensure the project can be successfully completed within the established budget while maintaining all the amenities that were presented to the community:

Phase 1: Large Activity Pool (Green on Graphic Below) & 4 Supporting Buildings
Construction Starts May 2023 - Completion Date May 2024
The 12,500-square-foot activity pool includes a zero-depth entry with spray feature, ninja-style ropes course, lap lanes, and a diving well with two diving boards and two climbing walls.

Phase 2: Slide Tower, Lazy River, Spray Pad (Blue on Graphic Below)
Construction Starts September 2024 - Completion Goal May 2025
The other amenities include a three-story-high slide tower with three slides, a 430-foot-long lazy river, and a 3,700-square-foot splash pad.

The Ice Side of The Landing
Following the completion of the aquatic facility, work will begin on the second component piece to The Landing - a permanent ice rink. This facility includes an outdoor ice rink that will be utilized in the winter with the ability to be converted to a turf field in the summer for community events like concerts, picnics, and movies - all of which will accentuate the fun and excitement taking place at the aquatic facility.

Several components of the ice rink are being constructed as part of the aquatic facility contract due to shared spaces and other construction efficiencies, bringing the total value of GCI's contract to $19.6 million. Work on the ice rink could be included in an amendment to Phase 2 of the aquatic facility, or it may be bid separately, depending on construction staging and pricing.

March 21, 2023 - The Landing Out for Bid
The Bettendorf City Council has approved a resolution approving the plans, specifications, and form of contract for The Landing. This means the project is now out for bid.

You can learn more about The Landing in Mayor Bob Gallagher's Message - released March 24, 2023:

March 7, 2023 - City Council Approves Next Step in Development Process of The Landing
The Bettendorf City Council has unanimously approved a resolution setting the date for a Public Hearing and directing the advertising of bids for The Landing. This is the first step of the approval process for a public improvement project. Several additional actions will be coming soon - including the consideration of a Site Development Plan by both the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council, in addition to another Public Hearing on the plans and specifications, followed by a consideration to award the contract.

November 22, 2022 - Scott County Regional Authority Awards First Grant to The Landing
The Scott County Regional Authority (SCRA) held its Fall 2022 Awards Ceremony and distributed 52 grants to projects in our community - totaling $1,617,863.

One of those projects is The Landing, which received its first grant from the SCRA - totaling $166,667. The SCRA has a total commitment to The Landing of $4,000,000, which will equal 24 grants over 24 cycles (Fall and Spring).

October 4, 2022 - Bettendorf City Council Approves The Landing

The Bettendorf City Council has voted to move forward with three resolutions:

1. A Shared Use Agreement with the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley to Create a City-Owned, YMCA-Operated Water Park
2. The Sale of the Life Fitness Center to the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley to Transform into a Youth-Focused Recreational Center
3. A Contract with RDG Planning & Design for Final Design of a State-of-the-Art Water Park and Permanent Ice Rink