By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Members of a City Council committee moved plans forward Monday to tear down the Lorden building that looms over the Rock River downtown as part of an effort to re-energize Davis Park.
The council’s Planning & Development Committee voted 4-0 to approve the proposed Davis Park master plan and Phase 1 redevelopment. The measure goes before the full City Council next week before it gets final approval.
The vision for the future of Davis Park includes a sun-tanning beach, splash pads, a multi-use trail, a skate park, a canopy stage and a plaza with space for food trucks during special events. What it won’t have is the towering seven-story, more than century-old building once used as a storage facility.
Mayor Tom McNamara said the goal is to energize the park with more activity.
“If you have young kids you can bring them (and) hang out at a beach and use a splash pad,” he said on This Week in the Stateline. “In the evening we want to activate it with concerts and events and shows and really bring in more people.”
Before the city opted to demolish the Lorden building, it put out a request for developers to submit proposals to repurpose the building. The only response it got was from Gorman & Co., a company that also led the redevelopment of the former Amerock building next door into a riverfront hotel and conference center.
But both city officials and Gorman ultimately decided redeveloping the Lorden building would be too costly. Gorman now supports the demolition, City Administrator Todd Cagnoni said at Monday’s meeting.
The first phase of renovations to Davis Park, which would include the demolition, are expected to cost roughly $6.1 million. That would be paid for with about $3.1 million in state funding and $2.5 million from the city’s redevelopment fund, Cagnoni said. The city is also seeking an additional $500,000 state grant to cover the first phase costs.
“Although the Lorden building is a piece of history for our city, it has become unusable and in disrepair,” Gretchen Gilmore, executive director of the BMO Harris Bank Center, said in a letter of support to council members. “Demolishing the building is necessary to open up the park creating a more welcoming environment with much more flexibility as a community park with the added ability to host gatherings.”
The first phase focuses on the south end of the park. The total cost of the project would be roughly $15-$18 million over three phases, said Kyle Saunders, director of public works for the city. Future phases include renovations to Green Street, woodland and sculpture gardens, a pedestrian mall, a play space and floating boat docks.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.