The long vacant and highly visible southeast corner of Middle and Crow Creek Roads would be developed into a retail hub with a drive-up bank, restaurant and offices under a plan approved by Bettendorf planners and set for city council approval Tuesday (11/1).
AMF Realty, owned by the same company that has developed the Wyndham Hills subdivisions on both sides of Middle Road south of Crow Creek, is seeking approval to build Wyndham Town Center with four commercial buildings at the busy intersection.
To accommodate the commercial traffic, city officials told the planning and zoning commission that developer Adam Seitz, whose family owns AMF Realty and Advance Homes, would pay half the cost of a new traffic signal to be installed this fall at Crow Creek and Middle Roads.
The city had plans to add a roundabout at that intersection, but that idea apparently has been shelved. The city's first and only roundabout at Middle and 53rd Avenue has been in place for 20 years, but it also has been the source of criticism by some motorists confused how to use the non-signalized traffic control model.
AMF Realty has obtained a variance from the city's board of adjustment to install drive-up lanes for two of the commercial buildings. One would be for a banking drive-up lane, the developer said, while the other would possibly be for a coffee shop.
The development raised concerns from several neighbors about screening of the commercial buildings from their homes. Seitz told the planning and zoning commission that existing berms and fences, plus new landscaping would provide a buffer between the businesses and residential properties.
The proposed commercial development would have access off Middle Road, plus an entrance off Crow Creek Road via a new Wyndham Drive to be built on the east side of the development.
