New owner of old Rever’s Marina in Rockford envisions lofts, offices and dockside dining

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A more than 140-year-old riverfront building that formerly housed Rever’s Marina could one day be filled with loft apartments, offices and a dockside dining venue under the vision of the new owner.

Teague Dickey, who is the president and CEO of Iconic Energy, bought the building at 220 N. Water St. last week through his limited liability company called Skinny Dip Inn. The five-story building, which was condemned in 2019 over code violations, is nestled against the Jefferson Street bridge across the Rock River from the new Rockford Public Library.

“We’ve got a brand new beautiful library, and what you see from the library is a vacant, rough-shaped building,” Dickey said. “Turning that into something, and putting life and energy back into it is really going to help Rockford continue its growth.”

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Dickey’s company Iconic Energy is in the midst of a $25 million to $30 million redevelopment of the former Rockford Register Star building, which is at 99 E. State St. about a block away from the former marina. The city is reviewing Iconic’s permits now before the most significant portion of construction begins to transform the historic building with a restaurant, cafe, offices and riverwalk.

“Improving this whole shoreline is going to benefit Rockford as a whole, but also help the momentum of the Iconic Building’s development,” Dickey said. “There’s so much transformation already happening downtown, so much investment by companies improving properties, and the city of Rockford doing a really good job with it, I just feel that taking an extra step on top of the Iconic Building really more significantly improves the east side of the river and all of downtown collectively.”

Skinny Dip Inn LLC purchased the former marina property for $300,000 from James A. Rever Trust No. 1 on July 18, according to records from the Winnebago County Clerk & Recorder’s Office.

Dickey said redeveloping it will be a long-term project.

The plan is to redevelop the top three floors for residential living, with approximately six to eight units on each floor. The first floor along Water Street would be used for offices or other commercial purposes and the lower level along the river would have a food and beverage business with dockside dining. The company would also be building and installing the new docks to support that.

The 48,800-square-foot building doesn’t have a parking lot, but Iconic Energy already owns an adjacent lot with 92 spaces.

There’s no set plan for when construction will move forward. Right now, the company is vetting architectural firms and researching historic tax credits before formalizing plans. Dickey estimates the work will cost roughly $8 million to $10 million.

First up will be replacing the roof and insulation within the next four months, Dickey said. He said the building still has its original roof from 1883, and it’s crumbling and in disrepair.

“I’m not a real estate tycoon. I never was, never will be and don’t want to be,” Dickey said. “The mindset or thought by many people who don’t live downtown or don’t come downtown is ‘downtown is not safe,’ and a blighted structure like the Rever’s Marina, understandably, can make people feel that way.”

The Rever’s Marina building was originally a grocery warehouse served by the nearby rail line for decades, according to newspaper archives. The brick and masonry building was later home to Rever’s Marina, which had opened in 1941 at a different location and operated for roughly 60 years. The business sold and repaired boats and provided boat storage along the Rock River.

The property was featured on an episode of the History Channel show “American Pickers” in early 2020 as former owner Jim Rever gave a tour of old equipment and antiques inside. That same year there was a sale pending to a Chicago investment group, but the deal fell through and the building had been listed for sale since.

“I didn’t want the building. I’m not a real estate guy, I would have never taken it if somebody had already taken the initiative and done it,” Dickey said. “The truth is, it’s sat there for so long and nobody’s had the balls to buy it and do anything with it. Though I don’t want to do it, I have the courage to do it.”

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