Rever’s Marina in downtown Rockford to go back up for sale

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A riverfront building that was the longtime home of Rever’s Marina is going back on the market nearly a year and a half after it was bought for a long-term redevelopment plan.

Teague Dickey, the owner of Iconic Energy, purchased the building through an LLC called Skinny Dip Inn in July 2024. His vision was to create loft apartments, offices and a dockside dining venue at the five-story brick building that’s across the river from the Rockford Public Library.

His decision to sell comes four months after he put the former Rockford Register Star News Tower up for sale. In both cases, Dickey had expansive redevelopment plans that he decided to halt in order to protect his core business, Iconic Energy, as it faces an expected downturn in revenue with the end of significant solar incentives under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“I love the property. I love the history and the significance of it,” Dickey told the Rock River Current. “I need to protect my solar company, our employees, and my customers first and foremost. Taking on significant debt to do redevelopment could be detrimental, and it’s just not a responsible move at this time for me.”

A sale of the former News Tower building could be finalized by early 2026. The Rever’s Marina building, 220 N. Water St., will be listed for sale for $1,675,000. Tina Tendall of Gambino Realtors is the listing agent. The 48,800-square-foot building comes with the parking lot across the street that has more than 90 spaces. That lot wasn’t part of the property when Dickey purchased it.

Dickey said taking on large debt to quickly redevelop the property would be risky given the uncertain environment for the solar industry. He didn’t want to try to slowly bring it back to life over the course of many years.

“It’s a disservice to myself, my community and being responsible to not take action quickly,” he said. “I’d have to wait longer to make a more conscious decision, and I don’t like to take the wait-and-see approach. I want that property to be redeveloped timely, and I don’t think that I can do it in the time that it deserves.”

The building was condemned over code violations in 2019, about five years before Dickey’s purchase. Work has been going on for months to get the site ready for its next act.

Dickey’s Skinny Dip Inn bought the property for $300,000 from the James A. Rever Trust No. 1 on July 18, 2024, according to records from the Winnebago County Clerk & Recorder’s Office. Then, his team installed a new roof with energy efficient insulation, removed asbestos, brought electrical deficiencies up to code, and did significant tuck-pointing to repair the brick exterior, he said. Fines that Dickey inherited when he purchased the property were also paid off, and the interior demolition was complete to leave an open space for the next phases of redevelopment.

“The exterior and interior both look phenomenal in my opinion,” Dickey said. “Structurally and visually it’s much improved.”

His plan was to turn the top three floors into loft apartments, with approximately six to eight units on each floor. The first floor along Water Street would have been used for offices or other businesses, and the lower level along the river would have a restaurant with dockside dining. New docks were also to be installed to support the riverside dining.

Dickey said a full set of architectural drawings would be turned over to the buyer if they want to continue on with the redevelopment plan.

The property dates back to about 1890 and served as a train depot and wholesale grocery warehouse. It was later home to a coffee bean roasting company. The Rever family had owned the building for about 50 years. The business sold and repaired boats and provided boat storage along the Rock River.

“It’s a beautiful building right on the Rockford skyline and waterfront,” Dickey said. “There’s a lot of potential in this property, I feel. It’s an open-floor plan with a lot of accessibility and waterfront.”

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