Once eyed as "Hotel Kate," Rockford Millennium Center up for sale
Plans for a 47-room boutique hotel called Hotel Kate never materialized, and now SupplyCore CEO Peter Provenzano's Joseph James Partners has placed the Millennium Center up for sale.
Before COVID-19 snarled supply chains and sent construction prices soaring, Provenzano in December 2019 hosted a groundbreaking for a hotel that he hoped would serve as a gathering place where Rockford families and visitors could stay, dine, play and connect at 220 S. Madison St.
"Our plans to redevelop 220 S. Madison Street into a boutique hotel were interrupted in the spring and summer of 2020 due to the pandemic," Provenzano said. "Since then, constructions costs have increased by well over 30% and have negatively impacted our original development plans."
Provenzano said the company's goal is to "activate" the building.
The plan had to be renovate the building to offer European style boutique lodging with modern amenities. The estimated $14 million project was to open in summer 2020, funded by a mix of traditional financing, historic tax credits and tax increment financing.
Owned by a subsidiary called Madison Street Properties LLC., the building was placed up for sale last week via Dickerson Nieman Commercial with a $700,000 asking price.
"Former YWCA space consists of private offices, retail and flex use," the property description reads. "Could be used for multiple purposes, bring your creative ideas. Building has been gutted out, will need significant interior cosmetic remodeling."
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The 34,478-square-foot building opened in 1958 as a YWCA. It served as a place of refuge with dormitory-style rooms on the upper level and a community center on the lower level.
It underwent a $1.3 million renovation into the nCENTER in 2008, a headquarters for the nFACTOR teen enrichment program. It was sold by the Salvation Army in 2010 for $350,000 as it struggled to pay for expensive utility costs. For several years it was home to small businesses, The Spot Café and the Bella Luna Bakery.
But it has been mostly vacant since plans began forming in 2017 for the boutique hotel.
Hotel Kate was to be named for Kate F. O'Connor, a businesswoman, suffragist and supporter of the YWCA that operated at that location for decades. An 1878 graduate of Rockford High School, O'Connor fought for fair wages and to give women the right to vote alongside Jane Adams in 1929.
Rockford City Administrator Todd Cagnoni said labor and supply costs increased during the pandemic along with interest rates. Although construction material prices have since declined, labor costs remain higher than they were, he said.
Cagnoni said it is disappointing that the hotel project didn't become a reality, but he is hopeful putting the building up for sale will attract new interest.
"We certainly would like to the building get redeveloped," Cagnoni said. "If he is not going to be in a position to advance a project forward, it's nice to see it is up for sale so someone else can evaluate it and determine how to move it forward."
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Millennium Center up for sale as Rockford hotel plan evaporates