ROCKFORD What was described as a public safety hazard at the vacant former Elks Club, 210 W. Jefferson St., has been addressed, according to an organization which advocates for the city’s downtown.
“We are pleased to report that the owner of the property removed the rolled up sections of roofing on Friday, two days after our news conference, and placed a temporary tarp over the roof area that sustained the damage,” River District Association member Gary Anderson said in a news release. “The immediate danger has been removed for which we are thankful.
Anderson and other River District members held a news conference on May 5 to publicly criticize Argyll Properties, which owns the former Elks Club, for the deteriorating condition of the building that sustained roof damage in an April 29 windstorm.
ROCKFORD Members of the River District Association said recent wind damage to the roof of the vacant former Elks Club, 210 W. Jefferson St., has created a public safety hazard.
The River District also believes that the owners of the building and the adjacent vacant law office at 221 N. Main St. continue to game a system that condones disinvestment and encourages blight.
“These (buildings) are detrimental to our city,” Rockford architect and River District board member Gary Anderson said Wednesday during a news conference outside the Elks Club building. “The progress that we are seeing downtown in the renaissance, these are the kinds of buildings that hold us back and they allow building owners to be speculative. This building was bought for $15,000 10 years ago and he hasn’t done anything with the building. Now, he’s asking for over a half million dollars for the sale of this building.”