A longtime Moline employee who was involved in many significant projects – including the creation of John Deere Commons and renovation of the Element Hotel – will be the city’s new director of community and economic development.
Chris Mathias, who worked for the city of Moline from 2004 to 2021 before becoming planning director for Scott County, Iowa, is returning to lead the department where he once worked.
“When I started working for Moline 19 years ago, I never thought that one day I would be named a director,” Mathias said in a city release Wednesday. “I’m extremely proud to be named the next CED Director and I know there’s so much work to be done and it’s going to require an enormous amount of hard work.
“I’m looking forward to working with the city staff, Mayor and City Council to make some great projects happen that will benefit the residents of Moline,” he said.
As head of planning in Scott County, Mathias was responsible for enforcement of the county’s zoning, building code, subdivision and floodplain development ordinances as well as overseeing its comprehensive development plan, the city release said.
He came to Moline in 2004 as a planning and zoning technician and was promoted to property management coordinator in 2009. He served as temporary land development manager in both 2018 and 2020 and was serving in that position when he departed the city in 2021.
Mathias replaces former CED director Ryan Hvitløk, who moved to the Houston area for professional and family reasons earlier this year.
“The city is happy to welcome Chris Mathias back to serve as the new director of community and economic development,” said Moline city administrator Bob Vitas. “His institutional knowledge of the city and vast experience in urban and regional planning will be invaluable to the organization and CED Department at a time when great opportunities and challenges are underway.”
Major projects Mathias will oversee include the city’s riverfront master plan, a new eastern gateway TIF district, I-74 corridor redevelopment, a SouthPark Mall master plan and other major economic development projects.
