This site, now vacant and cleared, was a strong example of the City of Rock Island’s dedication to the clean-up and redevelopment program. Located at 1103 9th Street, the site stood empty from roughly January 1974 till the present. For years the city attempted to have the owner remove the tanks to no avail, and the property was in tax delinquency due to the fact that all owners had died. The plans by the city to clean up the property began in late 1997.
The city chose to remediate the problem by cleaning the property up, and bringing it up to EPA standards, though the possibility of the project being quite costly was examined. Rock Island wanted to be able to redevelop the site, and in the present state, they were worried that they would not be able to sell it. Luckily, when soil borings were taken no trace of groundwater or soil contamination was found, greatly reducing the cost of clean up. At this, the city opened bids to examine the cost to remove up to four 5000-gallon underground tanks, and any liquid in them. Several bids came back ranging from $4700.00 to $20,500.00 for identical work. The city took the low bid from Metro Environmental Contractors, of Wheeling, Illinois. Work began near the end of July 1999, and was completed in a few days. In addition to the removal of the tanks, and the accompanying liquid (gasoline and water), the building would be razed in order to make the property more attractive to potential customers, and make the site green again. All work went well, and no contamination was found in the areas surrounding the tanks. The site still sits vacant, but is much more attractive to potential investors, as the environmental threats associated with the property are not an issue.
