Demolition begins at former Church School, a blighted nearly 130-year-old building in Rockford
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Work began Monday morning to tear down a nearly 130-year-old school building on the city’s west side that had sat vacant for nearly three decades.
N-Trak Group of Loves Park was hired by the city of Rockford to demolish Church School, 1419 Blaisdell St. The work is expected to take approximately three to four weeks, according to Brandon Kruse, construction services coordinator for the city of Rockford.
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The school was closed in 1994, and Rockford Public Schools sold it for $36,000 three years later to Progressive West Rockford Community Development Group.
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The community group had plans to turn the building into a community center, but that concept never came to fruition and the structure deteriorated. The city of Rockford obtained the building in 2010 for $16,500 worth of liens it had filed against the property.
City officials say they explored numerous other redevelopment possibilities for the building, but none were considered financially feasible. Other redevelopment ideas included a multimillion-dollar proposal to turn it into senior housing.
Church School was built starting in 1894, and a gymnasium was added in 1936, according to information from the Rockford Public Library‘s local history room.
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City Council members on April 17 approved hiring N-Trak at a cost of $323,720 for the demolition and cleanup work. It’s paid for from the federal Community Development Block Grant program.
The land will be left as open green space until a suitable development is proposed.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.
