Plan to redevelop historic hotel in downtown Rockford gets preliminary OK from City Council panel

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A City Council committee has given preliminary approval to an $11.7 million plan to redevelop a pre-Civil War building across from the BMO Center in downtown into loft apartments and ground-floor businesses.

The city’s Planning & Development Committee voted unanimously Monday night to approve a redevelopment agreement with Urban Equity Properties to rehab the historic former Chick House Hotel at South Main and Elm streets. The committee’s vote is the first step toward approval by the City Council, which will consider the agreement next week.

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The development agreement calls for the city to provide a $2.7 million forgivable loan, which would be awarded in three $900,000 increments. If Urban Equity Properties maintains 75% residential occupancy, the loan payments will be waived in $270,000 installments over a decade.

The city also plans to create a new tax increment finance district and repay UEP all the increment property taxes it generates. The money would be distributed on a pay-as-you-go basis.

TIF districts capture increases in property taxes that come when a property’s value increases into a special fund — sometimes referred to as the increment. That money can then be used to pay for redevelopment and infrastructure work.

For example, if a property owner paid $2,500 annually before improvements and $5,000 after, the additional $2,500 in taxes can be repaid to the developer for qualified development work.

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

The development agreement restricts UEP from protesting its property taxes, and it requires the developer to pay prevailing wages to workers on the project.

Urban Equity Properties plans to convert the upstairs former hotel space into 18 luxury loft apartments. The ground floor would become three businesses, including a yet-to-be named restaurant. Justin Fern, founding principal of Urban Equity Properties, said the restaurant operator could be announced by summer, when construction would begin.

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.

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

The city has owned the southern portion of the building since September 2004. The upper portions of the building have been empty since the last iteration of the hotel shut down in 1951.

Urban Equity Properties will pay the city $64,000 to purchase its portion of the building. It previously purchased the other portion of the building from Rockford Office Supply House for $250,000 in December.

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