Nearly $12M overhaul will turn pre-Civil War building into lofts and businesses in downtown Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — One of the few remaining pre-Civil War structures in downtown will be revamped into up to 20 loft apartments and three ground-floor businesses under a developer’s proposal in partnership with the city.

Urban Equity Properties plans to purchase the city’s vacant and deteriorating portion of the historic former Chick House Hotel for $64,000 and undertake an $11.7 million redevelopment. The developer will utilize financial assistance from the city, as well as state and federal historic tax credits to help pay for the project. UEP previously purchased the other portion of the building from Rockford Office Supply House for $250,000 in December.

“There’s so much history with this building,” said Justin Fern, founding principal of Urban Equity Properties. “I just want to continue to keep as many as we can of these historic properties because they just get reimagined in such a great way and at the same time we’re saving our history.”

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Improving the 168-year-old property, which sits at the corner of South Main and Elm streets across from the BMO Center, has been a goal for the city during the two decades it has owned the southern portion of the building.

Bringing the building back to life is considered important economically, especially with its proximity to an entertainment venue that draws tens of thousands of visitors each year, and a vital safety need.

“We have a very aggressive approach of getting these vacant buildings — specifically the ones that are under the control of the city of Rockford through past code violations, default or whatever the case may be — more productive in our community,” said Todd Cagnoni, city administrator. “Blight reduction has been a huge part of our overall strategy, and vacant buildings that are dragging down adjacent properties continues to be a concern.”

Details of the potential redevelopment agreement between the city and Urban Equity Properties were posted Friday as part of City Council committee agendas. It will be considered by the City Council’s Planning & Development Committee on Monday, the first step in the process toward approval. It could be voted on by City Council as soon as Feb. 3.

If approved, Urban Equity Properties plans to start the two-year construction process this summer.

City incentives

The plan calls for the city to provide a $2.7 million forgivable loan, with $550,000 of that money coming from surplus funds the city had previously dedicated to repairing crumbling portions of the property. The loan would be awarded in three, $900,000 increments. If the developer maintains 75% residential occupancy, the loan payments will be waived in $270,000 installments over 10 years.

The city would also agree to create a new tax increment finance district and repay Urban Equity Properties 100% of the revenue it generates from its improvements on a pay-as-you-go basis over the 23-year life of the TIF.

TIF districts capture increases in property taxes that come when a property’s value increases because of improvements into a special fund that can pay for redevelopment and infrastructure work. For example, if property taxes were $2,500 before improvements and $5,000 after, the additional $2,500 in taxes can be repaid to the developer for specific improvement work.

The city will also make parking available in its Wyman and Elm streets parking deck free during the two-year construction process, and it will reduce parking costs by 50% for two years and 75% for five years at the deck once residents move in.

The agreement with the city also restricts UEP from protesting its property taxes. They will be required to pay all permit fees and pay prevailing wages to workers on the project.

Mayor Tom McNamara said the development will benefit downtown not only by reviving a vacant property, but by bringing more residents in who will shop, eat, bank and otherwise support nearby businesses.

“They’ll need to shop for groceries, they’ll go out to restaurants, they may want to buy their gifts, their cards, their stationary and their gifts for the holidays for that special someone in their lives right downtown, and they’ll be able to do all that walking,” McNamara said. “We have really, over the last several years, been trying to bring in different key assets to make sure if you want to live downtown you can get everything you need within walking distance.”

Redevelopment challenges

The property was initially called the Griggs House when it was built in 1857. It was renamed the Chick House Hotel after it was purchased by Thomas Chick in 1888.

It’s one of three pre-Civil War commercial buildings still standing in downtown, according to the city. The others are the Metropolitan Hall Lofts, built in 1856 at 404 W. State St., and Block 3 lofts at 330 E. State St.

Urban Equity Properties also owns those buildings.

The city has owned the southern portion of the building since September 2004, and it has been vacant for even longer. The upper portions of the building have been empty since the last iteration of the hotel shut down in 1951.

“My understanding is when this stopped being a hotel in the early ’50s, it’s been untouched since,” said Rob Wilhelmi, the city’s brownfields redevelopment specialist. “What you’re seeing here is exactly how it was in the 1950s and before.”

Much of the interior has deteriorated with crumbling facade, peeling paint and cracks, chips and breaks across the ceilings and walls.

“Structurally the building is fairly sound. There is some settling in some places that you’ll see that is going to have to require some shoring and some stabilization,” Wilhelmi said. “That’s been known about for years. The city did do some bracework back in the early 2000s after acquiring the property in (2004), but one of the biggest challenges is just trying to balance that need for preserving the historic nature versus maximizing the amount of development space.”

The Chick House is in a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Repairing it requires preserving historic aspects in order for developers to earn tax credits.

“The entire building is going to be gutted, it’s going to be a shell when we’re done, and we have to save all the original historic components and detail,” Fern said. “It’s a very intense restoration project.”

Restaurant and lofts

The plan is to convert the upstairs former hotel space into 18 luxury loft apartments.

There is also the potential to create two accessible apartments on the ground floor behind the commercial properties, for a total of up to 20 units.

McNamara said it helps fill some of the city’s need for more housing in conjunction with other developments such as Colman Yards, Water Power Lofts, Nu State Apartments and the affordable apartment development in the former The Lafayette Hotel on Mulberry Street.

“We did a housing study that showed we need housing at all levels, from affordable to luxury,” McNamara said.

Fern said a restaurant is planned for one of the commercial spaces on the ground floor, reusing the old Scribner’s Soda Bar space that has been vacant for decades. He said they likely won’t announce the restaurant operator until summer, but he hinted at the future occupant.

“It would be their second location,” Fern said. “People love and follow this restaurant — probably one of the largest followings in and around the city — and it’s going to be an instant success.”

He hopes the restaurant will be another motivating factor for people to come downtown.

“It’s going to bring a whole different group of people who may haven’t started coming to downtown to hangout yet,” Fern said. “I think we’re going to get additional folks because of this location, and it’s going to be a great amenity across the street from the BMO.”

https://www.rockrivercurrent.com/2025/01/24/photos-and-video-the-historic-chick-house-hotel-in-downtown-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