Rockford City Council panel approves one apartment proposal, delays vote on another

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Aldermen on a City Council committee on Monday delayed one request and approved another for two separate apartment developments with vastly different price points on Rockford’s east side.

The city’s Code & Regulation Committee voted 4-1 to lay over a proposal to bring 30 apartments to a former addiction recovery center on Arnold Avenue with rents ranging from $700 to $900. The delay gives council members more time to consider the project.

They then voted 4-1 to approve a special-use permit for a 240-unit apartment development and 136-unit senior care facility on a 19-acre plot along Garrett Lane. Developers expect rent for those apartments to be around $2,500.

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A vote on the Garrett Lane development will move forward to the full City Council next week. The Arnold Avenue proposal will come back to the committee in two weeks.

In both projects, some aldermen expressed concern with additional traffic congestion and the density of the projects. Proponents say the developments will help Rockford address its shortage of available housing.

Lake County-area developer MKES Investments LLC wants to build 483-square-foot apartments in the former Reformers Unanimous women’s recovery dormitory at 310 Arnold Avenue. It said the apartment complex is the best way to reactivate the space after years of vacancy, but it’s proposal requires special permission because the development calls for too many units for the existing parking. MKES wants the OK to move ahead with 39 parking spaces instead of the 45 that are required under the zoning for the area.

The developer said the rent prices would be attainable for residents who don’t have high incomes, but it would not be government subsidized low-income housing.

“We’re not looking for affordable housing, we’re looking for attainable housing. Something that people can afford this day and age with rising rents,” Arnold Isakhanian of MKES Investments previously told the Rock River Current.

The plan for 6654 Garrett Lane, which is brought forward by Rockford Senior Campus LLC, calls for four, three-story structures to be built on 11 acres of land. Each building would have 60 units with underground parking. A clubhouse with a pool would be in the middle of the development with additional parking around it.

The complex would include studio, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments open to all ages at market rates.

A second phase of the development would bring a 136-unit assisted living facility with memory care for patients with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. The senior living facility would be operated by New Perspective Senior Living.

Developers previously pitched that project, albeit a slightly different version, three years ago. Aldermen turned down the project at that time.

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Both proposals came to the City Council panel on Monday after pushback from nearby residents, who said the density and additional traffic from the apartments at each site would be harmful to the existing neighborhood.

Alderman Mark Bonne argued that the Arnold Avenue development would add to a concentration in his ward of lower-income, absentee landlord apartments. Bonne stands in opposition to the development and was the lone vote against delaying a decision. He also voted against the Garrett Lane proposal.

Alderman Tim Durkee, who represents the ward where the Garrett Lane apartments are pitched, said the area is not designed to handle high-density developments. He said the project would harm their property value and quality of life.

“As far as that neighborhood and some of the businesses, there is universal opposition,” Durkee said. “I’ve never heard anybody in the area say this is a good idea.”

Durkee said he thinks this type of development is worthwhile for Rockford, but not in this area.

The land is currently zoned for commercial uses such as office space and small businesses. Proponents argued that could generate more traffic than residential because of the in and out from both customers and workers. The C-1 zoning in the area also allows for ground-floor commercial and residential use above it, said Scott Capovilla, the city’s planning and zoning manager.

“This developer chose not to do the office portion, I think many people here would understand why,” Capovilla said. “The office market is not what it used to be. Many office buildings are being turned into residential throughout the country.”

Capovilla said the city will have to take a close look at its C-1 district in the future to think about how it wants to make use of vacant land.

Alderman Bill Rose argued that the city has been too restrictive in accepting developments of late, noting the recent denial of a plan for self-storage and other commercial development at the old Kmart site on East State Street.

“When do people who buy property and own property get a chance to build on it,” Rose said. “I understand there’s approvals we have to go through, but I feel like we’re shooting ourselves in the foot on some of these conversations.”

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