Hanley Furniture building in Rockford will be demolished after fire
Mayor
"While we are saddened to see this building come down, we are excited by the possibility that the space could be developed and continue the momentum we have been seeing downtown the last several years," the joint statement reads. "We will continue as partners in these redevelopment efforts."
Much of the fifth story of the five-story structure was torn down by a city contractor Sunday night. Fire officials said at the time that they wanted to demolish the rest because of safety concerns, but Fern expressed a desire to save the building, asking the city to hold off until an evaluation could be done.
Before Sunday's fire, Fern had planned to redevelop the property into loft apartments. The five-story building at
Fire officials estimated damage to the building at
Earlier today, architect
"We think the building is salvageable," Anderson said, but there was a question of whether such an operation was affordable. "The other side of the equation is financing," he said.
Anderson said the building is a "pretty important structure," considering the redevelopment planned a few blocks south for the former Amerock building, which is being turned into a hotel and conference center.
"We would be left with a gaping hole" if it were torn down, he said before today's announcement that it would be razed.
The city will seek to recoup from insurance of the property owner the mounting costs of fighting the fire because it required an extraordinary response and 24-hour surveillance. Firefighters today were still standing watch at the scene and finding and extinguishing burning embers and hot spots,
The city will also seek reimbursement for any costs of building demolition.
Staff writer
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