Story by John Clark
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — On the corner of South Main and Elm Streets sits The Chick House, a former hotel that predates the Civil War and is one of the oldest buildings in Rockford.
It may soon be receiving an upgrade.
“We’ll be redeveloping the property. It’ll end up with 18 luxury apartments on the upper floors. And then we’ll have several retail restaurants based on the ground floor as well,” said Urban Equity Properties’ Justin Fern.
Chick House was built in 1857 and was originally called The Griggs House. Thomas Chick purchased the building in 1888 and renamed it after himself.
The building, at 119 S Main Street — across from the BMO Center — remained a hotel until it closed in 1951.
The City of Rockford purchased the dormant building, located in the city’s Main Street District, in 2004.
“It’s been a very difficult property to redevelop primarily [because] there’s a property line going down the middle of the building. Over the years, it would take a developer who would have to negotiate a purchase agreement with the other side of the building as well, and that’s finally come together,” said Rob Wilhelmi, Rockford’s Brownfields Redevelopment Specialist.
A plan to upgrade the historic landmark for the modern era, to the tune of $12 million, is in the works, with a sale of the property to Urban Equity Properties under consideration at Monday night’s City Council.
“There are things that we can and can’t do and we follow those rules closely. And we also like, you know, keeping a lot of the history and also adding a touch of modern.”
