Consultants tell Rock Island council housing shortfall, segregation and concentrated poverty persist; report offers targeted actions

Consultants working for Rock Island, Moline and Davenport told the Rock Island City Council that the region faces persistent gaps in affordable housing, measurable racial disparities in housing problems and areas of concentrated poverty and offered a set of recommendations they say can guide local action.

Nicole Mata, Rock Island’s community development manager, introduced an Analysis of Impediments to fair housing choice (AI) and a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) produced by Mosaic and Points Consulting. She said the reports will inform the city’s 2025–2028 consolidated plan and a Strategic Housing Development Plan scheduled for later this year.

Jeremy Gray of Mosaic, who led the AI portion, said HUD requires each Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) recipient to document barriers to fair housing. “Affirmatively further fair housing” means going beyond combating discrimination to address segregation and other barriers to opportunity, Gray said, and the study examines integration/segregation, concentrated poverty, access to opportunity and housing need.

Gray summarized key findings for Rock Island: about 29.1% of households have at least one housing problem (primarily cost burden); the rate varies by race, with roughly 23% of White households reporting housing problems compared with about 43% of Black households and more than half of Asian households, according to the consultants’ data. Gray also identified at least one census tract that meets HUD’s definition of a racially or ethnically concentrated area of poverty (nonwhite population over 50% and poverty rate over 40%).

The consultants described outreach that informed the reports: more than 700 survey responses, virtual and in‑person meetings, pop-up events and focus groups with seniors, people with disabilities and immigrants and refugees.

Points Consulting presented the HNA. Jess, a member of that team, described two population scenarios: a status‑quo projection showing a steady decline and an optimistic projection that would add about 22% population growth by 2044 (roughly 8,000 people). Under the optimistic scenario, Rock Island would need about 3,700 additional housing units. The consultants also cited building-permit trends and a spike in multifamily development tied to a 2020 project (Lincoln residences).

Other data highlighted include a 7% residential vacancy rate in Rock Island (highest among the tri‑cities) and a construction-cost estimate of about $220,000 to build a single‑family home in the city. In a city‑specific survey subset, roughly 148 Rock Island respondents were counted; about 15% said they did not want more housing at this time, while a larger share favored mixed housing types if development were pursued.

The reports identify four broad impediments and offer recommendations: 1) insufficient access to affordable and larger accessible units — recommend continued use of CDBG funds and active pursuit of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) opportunities; 2) lack of targeted investment in underserved areas — recommend encouraging nonprofit applications for job training and aligning revitalization efforts regionally; 3) uneven distribution of publicly supported housing — recommend strategies to diversify voucher utilization and explore bringing 811/202 program types to Rock Island; 4) gaps in fair‑housing education and enforcement — recommend coordinated, culturally appropriate outreach and partnerships with organizations serving limited‑English communities.

The consultants also urged local use of the Quad Cities Land Banking Authority to address blighted and vacant houses and suggested housing models such as community land trusts and ‘step up’ rehabilitation programs as options to increase affordable homeownership.

Nicole Mata told council members draft reports had been circulated and that staff will accept comments to incorporate into final versions coming back to council in February.

Next steps: staff and consultants will revise draft documents based on feedback for formal consideration; no formal council action or vote on the reports occurred at this meeting.