The largest catering company in the Quad Cities will soon be based in downtown Rock Island. Monday night, the city council approved $600,000 to help Bridges Catering buy the Stern Center on 3rd Avenue.
Owner Bill Healy says the purchase by Bridges Catering should close early next month. That's when the city will give the company $300,000, and then another $300,000 after renovations are complete.
He says renovations should take around three months.
Bridges Catering offered to buy the Hauberg mansion earlier this year, but Rock Island denied the request due to concerns about the historic property.
Healy says when the deal fell through, he began talking to Matt Stern, co-owner of Stern Beverage.
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The company will spend about 1 point 3 million dollars, although there's no exact cost yet.
The $600,000 investment from the city comes from its downtown TIF district.