Saying Rockford should 'build, build, build,' permit issued for $47M Avon Street project
Rockford City Council on Monday approved a special-use permit for a proposed $47 million mixed-use development of affordable and market rate housing, social services and commercial space on Avon Street.
It includes 64 low-income apartment units in addition to market rate single-family homes and multifamily buildings. The proposed project has sparked a debate on City Council and among residents over the need for additional affordable housing in Rockford.
Ald. Bill Rose, D-9, said Rockford is experiencing a housing shortage that is driving up market prices for housing and creating a more than 11% increase in assessed property values. Rose said the city needs as much additional housing as it can get.
"Whether it's low income, whether it's affordable housing, middle income, I don’t care if it’s a mansion, we should be saying build, build, build in the city of Rockford," Rose said. "Otherwise, we are going to see our property assessments go up."
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A 10-3 vote will allow the project to take a step forward, but it will return in coming months for final approvals.
Ald. Tim Durkee, R-1, Janessa Wilkins, D-7, and Jeff Bailey, D-13, voted against the special-use permit. Ald. Jonathan Logemann, D-2, Chad Tuneberg, R-3, Gabrielle Torina, D-5. Aprel Prunty, D-6, Karen Hoffman, D-8, Bill Rose, D-9, Frank Beach, R-10, Isidro Barrios, D-11, and Gina Meeks, D-12 voted in favor of the project. Ald. Mark Bonne, D-14, was absent.
The project includes a 64-unit apartment building with a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, 10,000 square feet of social service and commercial space and an 8,000 square-foot child care facility. It also calls for the construction of six single-family homes and eight duplexes that would be for sale and two market rate multifamily buildings. It also includes an agriculture and education center.
Although some residents have questioned whether the site is environmentally safe, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued a letter certifying that "no further remediation" is needed for residential or commercial use on the land.
The project teams the non-profit Rockford Housing Development Corporation, Wisconsin-based Gorman & Co. and Place Foundry LLC, a Rockford-based urban design and real estate consulting firm among others.
Although the vote was over zoning for the project, much of the discussion focused on its merits.
Durkee, who has long opposed additional affordable housing in Rockford, spoke against the project saying that the Rockford region has limited resources with which to assist low-income families and that those resources are already stretched too thin. He also took issue with the density of the apartment building, comparing it to public housing projects.
Despite his "no" vote as representative of the ward where the project is located, Bailey said he is still acclimating to being recently appointed to City Council and is still studying his position on the Avon Street project.
Jeff Kolkey can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford approves a special-use permit for Avon Street development
