The main civic area of the former Illinois National Guard Armory on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Rockford. The Rockford Area Arts Council has put in a bid to buy the property from the city of Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Rockford Area Arts Council has made a bid to buy the vacant former Illinois National Guard Armory with a long-term goal of creating a cultural civic center with artist live and work spaces.

The Arts Council submitted a $1,000 bid on Monday to buy the nearly 90-year-old building at 605 N. Main St. from the city, which put the property up for sale in July in hopes of selling it to an organization that will restore the rundown site for new use.

The Arts Council was the only organization to submit a purchase bid. Next, City Council will be asked whether to approve the sale.

Related: Inside look at the challenges that await at the former Rockford Armory

The vision is to turn the 57,000-square-foot property into a cultural hub for visual and performing arts, which could include anything from school performances to a venue for groups like the Rockford Youth Symphony Orchestra, said Mary McNamara Bernsten, executive director of the Arts Council. There would also be gallery space for resident artists, offices for cultural groups and rental space for weddings receptions and other special events.

“It could have multi functions for many different agencies,” McNamara Bernsten said.

Surrounding the main civic center space of the building would be 26 studio apartment spaces for artists. Bringing artists together creates potential for collaboration and inspiration.

“I don’t think you can understate the impact of a critical mass of creative people,” McNamara Bernsten said. “They’re going to come up with creative solutions to community challenges.”

Before that work can begin, the Arts Council will have to undertake a lengthy cleanup of the property, which has water damage, rooms where weeds and moss are growing through the floorboards and other crumbling components. McNamara Bernsten described it as “Jurassic Park with asbestos.”

The group stands to benefit from state and federal Environmental Protection Agency grants that can help fund asbestos removal and other environmental cleanup. Such grants are more readily available for nonprofit groups like the Arts Council than for-profit businesses and government agencies, McNamara Bernsten said.

“Having a partner like the Rockford Area Arts Council that wants to take on advancing that project forward — getting the property clean, aligning the private sector to be partners — it has the opportunity to be a huge win for the city,” City Administrator Todd Cagnoni said. “We have made a lot of efforts to move properties that are historic in nature and under the city’s ownership toward redevelopment. This is an effort to accomplish that.”

Related: Photos | Inside the former Illinois National Guard Armory in Rockford

The Arts Council has until Nov. 14 to buy the property in order to meet its deadline to apply for grant funding.

From there, it promises to be a long process to reach the final vision.

Grants would be announced in May, and it’s expected to take several months after that to secure receipt of the funding. It wouldn’t be until 2026 for environmental cleanup work to get underway.

“We hope to be completely cleaned up by the end of 2026,” McNamara Bernsten said. “During those 24 months, the Arts Council’s goal with potential partners like Urban Equity Properties and/or Ron Clewer of Gorman & Co., is to create a development agreement.”

A potential purchase agreement with the city could spell out clauses for the property to revert back to city ownership if grant funding isn’t won.

If the Arts Council is able to complete the cleanup, but unable to secure the capital to complete the remainder of the project, then McNamara Bernsten and city officials say progress still would have been made toward stabilizing the property and preparing it for another developer to take over.

“It has the opportunity for a huge upside with little downside,” Cagnoni said. “Right now that property is sitting there, and it only gets harder and harder to redevelop as the years go on.”

Taking on an effort to redevelop a massive property is uncharted territory for the Rockford Area Arts Council, a nonprofit with a nearly $700,000 annual budget that exists to support the local arts.

The group will lean on project partners with development experience, and likely hire a project manager to guide the work.

It has had discussions with Urban Equity Properties and Gorman & Co., two organizations that have tackled major redevelopment initiatives  in Rockford, as potential partners. It’s also working with environmental specialists Fehr Graham to help with grant-writing and cleanup work.

“The Arts Council’s mission is to support, promote and develop access to the arts for anyone. I see this as developing access 100%,” McNamara Bernsten said. “It’s in alignment, but in terms of expertise we’re going to need to hire it, and that’s OK.”

She said the effort also ties into the recently completed cultural plan, a strategic roadmap developed over 18 months to identify priorities for integrating the arts into areas across the city.

Developing a signature cultural space was a key part of that plan.

The Arts Council’s plan would bring activity to the site for the first time in more than 25 years.

The historic Art Deco structure was built in 1936 by Sjostrom & Sons and designed by Bradley & Bradley Architects.

The Illinois National Guard operated out of the facility until 1993, when it moved to North Second Street in Machesney Park. During the facility’s heyday in the 1970s, it was also the city’s premier entertainment venue hosting acts such as REO Speedwagon, ZZ Top and Cheap Trick, among many others.

After the National Guard’s move, the building was used as OIC Vocational Institute from 1996-1999, when the organization ceased operations. The property fell into disrepair as other plans for the site never materialized, and the city took ownership in October 2006.

Photos: Inside the former Illinois National Guard Armory in Rockford

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