Demolition on portion of Rockford Plaza set to move forward for new Starbucks

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The owners of Rockford Plaza are demolishing a corner portion of the complex to make way for a new Starbucks.

The tear down comes a year and a half after Real Estate Affiliates Inc. won City Council approval of a special-use permit to build the drive-thru Starbucks at 602 Hollister Ave., which is along Charles Street between Stockholm Inn and Schnucks. The work is moving forward now after the lengthy process of obtaining state and local demolition permits inside the Keith Creek floodplain.

There’s no set timeline now for construction or the opening of the coffee shop. Demolition is underway now on the 17,000-square-foot portion of Rockford Plaza. It will be replaced by a new freestanding 2,550-square-foot Starbucks.

The building was formerly home to Furst Staffing, Eyedeal Optical and City Nails, among other businesses, but the owners said it was underutilized with the remaining businesses occupying about 3,500 square feet of the building. Furst Staffing had previously moved to 120 W. State St. Real Estate Affiliates relocated Eydeal and City Nails to other portions of the plaza at no cost to the businesses.

When Real Estate Affiliates purchased the plaza for $7.67 million in May 2023, it looked to bring new activity and traffic to the center by tearing down an underutilized portion of the building and replacing it with the busy national coffee chain.

“Starbucks will bring revised energy and vitality to the center which will be a great benefit to existing tenants and the surrounding community,” Alan Gottlieb of Real Estate Affiliates wrote to City Council members in 2023. “As the new owners of Rockford Plaza, we are excited to be a part of the Rockford community and the opportunity to utilize our development expertise to update and revitalize Rockford Plaza, a center rich in Rockford history.”

Kate Gottlieb, principal at Real Estate Affiliates, said the company is working to fill other vacancies in the plaza.

“Hopefully people will be excited about Starbucks and we can fill those up, too,” she said via phone on Monday. “Everyone else in the center is pretty happy and going to stay for long term.”

There are six Starbucks in Rockford so far, with the most recent opening in January at State and Main streets in downtown Rockford.

There are several others in the works in the area, with one coming soon to South Mulford Road and Columbia Parkway just north of Casey’s General Store. Another is in the works at the former Sonic Drive-In along Perryville Road in Cherry Valley, and one is coming to Winnebago Corners at the corner of Winnebago Road and U.S. 20. Plans have also been approved for a Starbucks and Chiptole on the Dodge Lanes property in Belvidere.

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