Here’s what’s being built at North Second and Theodore streets in Loves Park

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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LOVES PARK — Champion Xpress Car Wash describes its mission as being “God’s church serving as a car wash.”

Fittingly, perhaps, its first location in the region is being built on the site of a former church.

The automated tunnel car wash company is building a new 4,350-square-foot wash at 6245 N. Second St., the former home of St. Chad’s Episcopal Church. The small church, which in its final years had about a dozen parishioners, disbanded in 2016 after 60 years of ministry.

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Via Real Estate, a Lubbock, Texas-based development company, purchased the Loves Park property for the car wash on May 1 for $1.02 million, according to a deed filed with the Winnebago County Clerk & Recorder’s Office. The property was sold by G5 Farm Property Group, which had bought it from the church for $500,000 in July 2022.

The new car wash at the corner of Theodore and North Second streets is one of three in the works in the city.

A Mister Car Wash is nearing completion at 7422 E. Riverside Boulevard, near the future home of Buona Beef and The Original Rainbow Cone. A Club Car Wash is one of the first two businesses planned for the lots in front of the Rockford Speedway property.

Last year, Tommy’s Express Car Wash opened at 6803 Forest Hills Road near the former Sonic Drive-In.

Champion Xpress is a Texas-based company that also has car wash locations in New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa and Illinois, as well as its home state.

The company says on its website that its goal is to have a positive impact on the communities it serves and “cultivate relationships within our organization and communities to promote the love of Christ.” It says its vision is to be “God’s hands and feet by serving our customers and each other.”

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