Work could start soon to replace a riverfront restaurant in Moline that was destroyed by fire last year. Tuesday night, the city council will consider hiring a contractor to build a new Captain's Table at Marquis Harbor.
General Manager Rob Egger says plans call for a 6,000 square foot, one-story building, with room for around 150 people, plus a large covered deck. Originally he wanted a second level for special events, but had to scrap that idea to make sure it's protected from future floods.
"So the restaurant itself will now sit five feet above ground and that's why it has a deck. But with the cost of building that foundation and the ADA compliancy we would have to meet to have a two-story building, it was going to put the budget almost one million dollars over."
A restaurant was first built on the site in the early 1960's, with an addition in the 1980's. Egger says it was closed for re-modeling when the fire broke out in January of last year.
Since it's city-owned land, plans and contracts have to be approved by Moline aldermen. And they'll be asked Tuesday night to approve a bid from Bush Construction for 2.3 million dollars - that includes 825,000 dollars from insurance and 337,000 from the company leasing the restaurant. In addition, the city will loan the company 1.1 million dollars to be paid back during the 30-year lease.
