Wreckage of former Atwood building in Rockford to be cleared at no taxpayer expense

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Roughly a year and a half after a fire ravaged the former Atwood building on North Main Street, city officials said Friday the wreckage left behind will finally be cleaned up.

Mayor Tom McNamara and Alderwoman Gina Meeks said the city’s lawsuit against the property owner and its insurance company will force the completion of the demolition and it will come at no expense to taxpayers.

“When you’re fighting blight it’s not an easy task and often it takes far longer than any of us would like,” McNamara said. “Unfortunately, it’s not an easy or quick task to go through the court system to hold business owners and insurance companies accountable for demolition of their properties.”

The former industrial building at 2500 N. Main St. was engulfed in a massive fire on Oct. 24, 2020, and the structure was partially demolished after the blaze. But a dispute between the owners and insurance company delayed the rest of demolition, and city filed suit against the owner and insurance company in administrative hearing and circuit court to force completion of the cleanup.

Site work is already underway at the property, but the remainder of demolition is scheduled to start April 18, McNamara said.

“As you’re driving down this very popular street this is the first thing you see, and it has really affected many of our businesses right along Main Street,” Meeks said. “So everyone has really pushed to get this building taken care of.”

More demolition: Industrial building on Broadway, eight other Rockford properties to be razed

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The property will be razed down to its concrete slab, and Meeks said she hopes it will be developed for new uses in the future. The property is owned by Rockford Developers LLC in Cicero, according to tax records.

“It’s been an eyesore for our residents and has negatively impacted our neighborhood,” Meeks said. “Having this property cleaned up will be a significant improvement for our neighborhood and will lead to further private development and business investment along the North Main corridor.”

McNamara gave credit to the city’s legal and community development departments for getting this and other properties, including the former Essex plant on North Main Street, the former Magna on East State Street and a former nursing home on North Main Street demolished, as well as dozens of other dilapidated houses.

“During my time in office, I have made fighting blight a high priority,” McNamara said. “Reducing blight in our community helps to increase property values, reduce crime and strengthen neighborhoods.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.