Rockford City Council approves new luxury condos, delays vote on separate residential development
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — City Council members on Monday approved a new luxury condo development on the city’s east side while delaying a decision on another residential development.
Combined, the two housing developments would create a total of more than 200 residences in east Rockford.
The one that was delayed would create 180 market-rate rental units through a combination of duplexes and quadplexes. The other promises 24 two-bedroom luxury condos in a gated community with a swimming pool.
Aldermen voted 12-1 to approve luxury condos at 5918 Elaine Drive behind the former Kmart on East State Street. Those will be sold as owner-occupied homes with a condo association in place.
City Council then delayed a decision for 30 days on the duplex and quadplex development at the request of Alderman Tim Durkee, who represents the 1st Ward where the development is proposed.
“The layover was to give our local organizations a chance to work with the developer and see what we can do to keep the jobs local,” Durkee said after the meeting.
The duplex and quadplex rental development would be built on land behind Gustafson’s Furniture, Beef-a-Roo, Weiss Morris Plaza and Perryville Crossings, among other businesses and homes in the area of Fincham Drive, White Chapel Lane, Mill Road and Highgrove Place.
That project is being undertaken by Liquidity Asset Solutions Management, which would build and manage three-bedroom, two-bathroom duplexes as well as one-bedroom, one-bathroom duplexes and fourplex buildings. William Charles Real Estate owns the land, which would be sold to the developers.
The partners behind the development are real estate investor Luke Salamone and NBA star Fred VanVleet.
Neighbors in the area had previously raised issue with the high number of units and the increased traffic that would bring. City staff and aldermen said that the land is zoned for commercial uses, such as restaurants and businesses, which would generate far more traffic than housing.
“There is a lot of density there, and generally I’m opposed to that, but there are four egress roads that go out of there,” Durkee said. “People can get out on State, they can get out on Perryville, they don’t drive through a whole bunch of neighborhoods.”
The development is slated to happen in phases. If approved, the first 10 dwellings are expected to be built this year off White Chapel Lane.
The luxury condos are being developed by Welcome Home Residency, Inc.. It plans to build four three-unit buildings and three four-unit buildings in a gated community with a swimming pool.
Construction is expected to begin in late summer or early fall, with the condos listed for sale for roughly $400,000, developers have previously said.
These two developments would generate more homebuilding than happened all of last year in Rockford, according to city permit data. There were 71 single-family home construction permits taken out last year, which is the most since 157 in 2007.
Last year, construction permits were also given for eight duplexes for 16 total units and 12 multifamily buildings with 44 units. That makes for a combined total of 131 units last year compared to 204 in these two developments.
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
