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.”