After 3-month delay, Rockford City Council to consider $47M housing and commercial development

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A proposed $47 million development that blends affordable and market-rate housing along with an early-learning center, vertical agriculture greenhouse, culinary institute and commercial space returns to City Council tonight after a more than three-month delay.

The vote was put on hold May 1 after the death of Alderwoman Linda McNeely, who represented the 13th Ward where the development is proposed. The delay was intended to ensure the people of the ward would have a voice on the council before a vote was taken. Jeff Bailey was appointed to the role and sworn in July 10.

“We need to continue to move in the process for us to meet other deadlines. We’re not at risk of losing those deadlines, but we want to stay on target,” said Ron Clewer, vice president of the Rockford Housing Development Corporation, the nonprofit housing organization behind the project. “With the Barber-Colman vote behind us as a community now, I think everybody can focus on this with clearer heads.”

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The proposal calls for 116 total living units, 64 of which would be developed as affordable housing, along 15 acres of mostly vacant land near South Avon and Cedar streets.

The cornerstone of the development is a 21,600-square-foot brick building at 915 Cedar St. that would be revived as a home to small storefronts, one-bedroom apartments and a market space for makers and small businesses. The mix of other housing types and commercial buildings would be constructed on vacant land formerly occupied by Rockford Gas Light and Coke Co., which was demolished in the 1960s.

“It’s an investment that begins to bring people back to living on the west side, which is essential for commercial growth,” Clewer said.

He also said it can start to connect the west side to downtown.

“The community downtown doesn’t see the west side as part of it and the west side doesn’t see downtown as part of it, and we need to begin to bridge that,” Clewer said.

Breaking down the plans

The development would have a variety of housing types for purchase or rent. The plan calls for 64 apartments, 10 courtyard duplexes, a six-family building, an eight- to 10-family building, two side-by-side duplexes and six single-family residences. Recreation paths will circle an area left as open green space.

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The 64 apartments would be built under the Section 42 low-income housing tax credit program, which is intended to incentivize private developers through federal subsidies to build or rehabilitate affordable rental housing. The owners of such developments must keep rents restricted and available to residents with low incomes.

The program should not be confused with public housing, Clewer said. This development compares to the Jane Addams Park Apartments, a 38-unit development for seniors and disabled residents at College and Seminary streets.

“For people, if they want to understand what that looks like, Jane Adams, which was built a little over 10 years ago, was funded this way,” Clewer said. “If you go by and you look at it, it still looks brand new.”

Costs and concerns

Rents would vary based on residents’ income levels. A one-bedroom unit could range from $645 to $787 and two-bedroom apartment would go from $750 to $935.

The market-rate living units would range from $925 to $1,260.

“It creates a more blended neighborhood across various income levels,” Clewer said. “That network of having folks from different income classes living next to you helps us appreciate each other a little more, but also helps those who are struggling not struggle as much.”

Alderman Chad Tuneberg, who represents the city’s 3rd Ward, said he wants the developer to offer assurance that this development will set itself apart from low-income housing projects of the past.

“For this development to distinguish itself, it needs to be guaranteed that these individuals must have a job, they must pass a legitimate background check and they are law-abiding citizens living there,” Tuneberg said. “If it’s not guaranteed then this is, in my eyes, just another subsidized low-income housing project.”

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Tuneberg said he wants to see that guarantee in writing in order to support the development.

“It can’t just be words. It has to be guaranteed that that’s what this development is about, and that it can’t be used in the future as just another public housing project,” Tuneberg said. “We already have enough public housing here.”

We reached out to Bailey, the alderman who represents the ward, for comment. He responded to an initial email questioning the specifics of the article and then did not respond any further.

Rockford Housing Development Corporation was formed in the 1980s with the sole purpose of owning Concord Commons after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development seized the property from its original owner. The nonprofit sold that housing complex to Envolve Communities, an Alabama-based property management company, for $6.4 million in June 2020. It’s now called Rockford Ridge Apartments.

Rockford Housing Development Corporation is seeking $13.5 million in federal low-income housing tax credits. There would also be private financing, traditional debt, historic tax credits, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Home Investment Partnership funds.

They have not asked the city for any funding at this point, but that could come in the future, Clewer said.

“We will have to come back to the city for the next step,” Clewer said.

If approved, the developer could break ground on the single-family homes this fall. Renovation of the vacant Cedar Street structure could start in winter. The rest of the project would commence in 2024 or 2025.

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