Vacant office building next to new library to be razed; Rockford City Council OKs financial support

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Rockford Public Library plans to raze the vacant office building it owns next to its new main branch with financial help from the city.

The gutted brick-and-stone building, 102 W. Jefferson St., was once envisioned as a riverfront apartment complex. The developer backed out of those plans two years ago, and officials now see clearing the space as the best path forward for future development.

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City Council members on Monday voted 10-2 to approve sharing in the cost of tearing down the building, which is next door to the new $39 million downtown library. Aldermen Tim Durkee and Frank Beach voted against the agreement, which calls for the city to provide $375,000 to the library for the demolition.

The money the city is providing comes from its allotment of federal American Rescue Plan dollars that were set aside for demolishing blighted buildings.

The library purchased the building for $300,000 from 3 Land Development Ltd. of Elgin. in January 2017, according to records from the Winnebago County Clerk & Recorder. The plan at the time was to raze the building and use the land as a staging area during ComEd’s environmental cleanup at the main library branch site.

However, Iowa-based Bush Construction came forward with plans for an 85-apartment development with a riverfront restaurant, retail space and underground parking. The company pulled out of the project in summer 2022 when it said the economics of the development no longer worked.

Meanwhile, the library razed its former main branch next door at 215 N. Wyman St. because ComEd was required to conduct an environmental cleanup at the site, which was once home to a gas plant tied to the company.

A new three-story, 66,000-square-foot library was built on the site and opened June 22.

The library’s board of trustees still needs to vote on its end of an agreement to raze the property and pay its share in the cost. Library Trustee Jamie Getchius said Monday and Board President Paul Logli previously said that measure is expected to pass.

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