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      INSECTS, ARACHNIDS, MYRIAPODS & GASTROPODS

    Categorized by family, placed chronologically by common name

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    Thursday, June 4, 2009
    river gulf grain company

    The River/Gulf Grain Company.

    The building lies downtown sandwiched between River Drive and the Mississippi River. One of the biggest criticisms of Davenport is that too much of the prime riverfront real estate (that could be developed into parks, river walks, etc.) is held by old companies with ugly structures, a product of a bygone era when steel, coal, quarried minerals, and other raw materials were transported via barge up and down the River.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on March 25, 2009, in Davenport, Iowa.

    Related posts:

    1. Mississippi River Half-Frozen
    2. Train in Downtown Davenport
    3. Pikes Peak, Colorado / Arkansas River
    4. The Davenport Printing Company
    5. The Timmermann Company

    Posted by: Moe in: Davenport,Iowa,Structures at 12:00 am

    Permalink | trackback (right click and save) | 
    2 Responses to “River/Gulf Grain Company”
    1. 1
      Tory Brecht Says:

      Here is a recent update on the company’s future on the riverfront I wrote for the Quad-City Times last month:

      Tory Brecht | Posted: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 9:15 pm |

      Frustration with River Gulf Grain’s lack of visible progress moving off the Davenport riverfront resulted in some friction Wednesday between the company’s attorney and members of the Levee Improvement Commission.

      Last month, the commission’s development director Steve Ahrens wrote a letter aimed at getting the company moving and asking them to provide a progress report at its May 13 meeting.

      Curtis Beason, a Lane & Waterman attorney who represents River Gulf Grain, delivered some good news and bad news to commissioners at the meeting. The company will cease operations at its River Drive facility by the Nov. 30 lease expiration deadline, Beason reported.

      However, the company doesn’t agree that language in the lease agreement calls for the site to be cleaned, free of debris and planted with grass in exposed dirt areas by that date, Beason said. Rather, he said, the company expects to work through Nov. 30 and then partner with the Levee Commission in cleanup efforts.

      That didn’t sit well with commissioners, who were already expressing regrets about granting the company another two-year extension on its lease in 2007.

      “I don’t see any way we see this as allowing them to begin cleaning at the end of the lease,” said commissioner Lucky Lang, as he read through the 2007 lease extension agreement. “Termination is Nov. 30. They must return the property in the condition required at that time.”

      Section 16.1 of the lease states: “Upon termination of this lease, lessee agrees to return the premises to lessor in such condition as is required by the lease set forth above, ordinary wear and tear excepted. Lessee shall remove at the end of the lease term all improvements on the leasehold to grade, including storage bins and buildings. Lessee agrees to plant grass seed on all areas of exposed dirt.”

      Ahrens said that certain milestones River Gulf failed to reach as part of the agreement also clearly indicate the intent of the company was to relocate and leave the property clear and cleaned prior to Nov. 30.

      Those include having primary equipment installed on the company’s new site on or before June 30, 2009 and that “the lessee will commence operations at the (new) site on or before Aug. 31, 2009.”

      Missing milestones has already led to financial penalties, as stipulated in the agreement. The monthly rent has gone from $5,832 in August 2007 to $6,751 currently for the property on East River Drive.

      Mary Dubert, a commissioner who voted for the last lease extension who has said she will not consider further extensions, said the expectations of the commission are clear: the site must be cleaned and seeded by Nov. 30.

      The commission asked Beason to attend the next Levee Improvement Commission meeting scheduled for June 10 with a work schedule.

      In the meantime, commissioners asked Ahrens to meet with city legal staff and to draft another letter to River Gulf, notifying it of the commission’s expectations and possible legal remedies if they are not met.

    2. 2
      Moe Says:

      Excellent article, Tory. I had missed that article originally, but am happy to see that, at the very least, they will be leaving the site this year. Any thoughts on what will take its place?

    Leave a Reply


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