Demo of historic Elks Club in Rockford moves forward, but there’s a new offer on the table

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app

ROCKFORD — City Council members have moved forward with plans to demolish the historic Elks Lodge No. 64 while the owner continues to work to sell the property, including a pitch for the city to buy it.

The owner’s attorney has pitched selling the 113-year-old structure at the corner of West Jefferson and North Wyman streets to the city for $250,000, according to City Administrator Todd Cagnoni and Alderman Mark Bonne.

That offer came after Mario Tarara, the attorney for property owner Mark McInnis, told the city that they were in negotiations with a potential buyer. McInnis previously told the Rock River Current the same information and said so again on Tuesday. They have not disclosed who the potential buyer is. Cagnoni said the city also asked Tarara for the potential buyer’s contact information.

“He responded that his client was unwilling to provide the buyer information, and then additionally went on to offer the property for sale to the city at a purchase price of net $250,000,” Cagnoni said.

Cagnoni and Bonne relayed that to the Rock River Current after the City Council’s Finance & Personnel Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to award a $233,108 contract to Northern Illinois Service Co. to demolish the property. The committee voted without any discussion. That vote is a first step before the matter goes to the full City Council on Monday.

Alderman Kevin Frost, who is chairman of the Finance & Personnel Committee, said there is little appetite for the city to take ownership of a property that needs hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work to stabilize it.

“We don’t do well as a city owning property. They tend to drag on,” Frost told the Current after the meeting. “But we have been successful in finding viable developers, and that’s what you need. You need someone to step forward and say they want to do it.”

Bonne wants to see the structure saved, but he expects the rest of the council will vote to proceed with demolition if a viable developer doesn’t come forward. McInnis has said he exhausted all his resources and wasn’t able to restore the property. He has been attempting to sell it. He said if a sale goes through it could spur the buyer to take on additional redevelopment projects in the city.

A vote on demolition is slated to go before the City Council on Monday, and Bonne plans to make a motion to delay. City Council rules allow for a vote to be delayed at its first appearance before the full council with the backing of just two aldermen. Bonne said he’s not sure his motion will get a second supporter.

“He’s made an offer that the administration is not taking seriously. Absent some guidance from the council to continue negotiating, I think we’re proceeding with demolition,” Bonne said. “I hope Mr. McInnis quits horsing around and gets serious about his professed concern for keeping this building standing and makes a more serious offer to the city.”

The city previously offered to buy the property for $1, but McInnis said that was a nonstarter given the more than $150,000 he’s invested into it.

Bonne said council members learned Tuesday afternoon that the owner was offering to sell the property to the city and was also in negotiations with another potential buyer.

“Squaring those two things is hard to figure out,” Bonne said. “If he has a buyer, why is he offering to sell to the city? Unless he doesn’t have a buyer, or he has a buyer who’s offering less than what he’s going to try to get from the city.”

Two independent reports done pro bono on behalf of Landmarks Illinois, a nonprofit historic preservation group, have concluded that the building can be saved. However, stabilizing it could be costly. A report from Bulley & Andrews Masonry Restoration recommended a budget of between $350,000 and $420,000 to make nine fixes to shore up the roof and make other stabilization efforts.

“We recognize the city’s frustration with the long period of vacancy and lack of investment,” Quinn Adamowski, regional advocacy manager for Landmarks Illinois, said Tuesday in a message to the city obtained by the Current. “However, demolition would erase an irreplaceable part of Rockford’s architectural legacy and eliminate a future redevelopment opportunity that aligns with the city’s revitalization goals.”

Adamowski said that the building still has excellent reuse potential, as highlighted by the Bully & Andrews report and an assessment from Brush Architects.

“With thoughtful action now, this historic landmark can be transformed from a liability into an asset that continues to contribute to economic and cultural vitality in downtown Rockford,” he said.

Alderman Chad Tuneberg said he doesn’t want to see the city spend taxpayer dollars to shore up the property only for it continue to sit vacant and blighted. He wants to know there is a legitimate plan for redevelopment to move forward.

“We haven’t heard any solid proof that there is an interested party,” Tuneberg said. “If I were a buyer with that high of an interest in the property, I would be doing everything I could to reach out to council and city administration. But what has it been? Crickets.”

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