12
Apr
2005
In 1985, Chris Larson purchased the Lincoln school building at 2125 Seventh Avenue in Rock Island. "I bought the school just to keep it from being demolished," Larson said. "I had absolutely no use for it at that time."
Shortly after he bought it, Larson - proprietor of the Larson Funeral Home just across the street on Seventh Avenue - crafted a development plan to turn the building, constructed in 1894, into a mall and food court. But when the Farmall plant closed, interested investors became leery of the project, and it died. For 20 years, the building has sat empty.
Last month, the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois placed the school on its list of the 10 most endangered historic structures in Illinois. (For more information, visit http://www.landmarks.org/ten_most_2005_4a.htm.)
In the early 1990s, Larson purchased the First Church of Christ, Scientist, next door to the funeral home and across the street from the old school. Again, he didn't have much sense of what he wanted to do with it. "I bought it for the parking lot," he said.
But his funeral-home organist had an idea for the building itself: a music academy. He hired a director and spent roughly $100,000 on structural improvements and programming. But the academy had trouble attracting students, and "I just pulled the plug on it," he said. "There wasn't anything coming in." For nearly a decade, the former church has been vacant.
Now a small group has come forward looking to purchase both properties and pump new life not only into the buildings but also Larson's ideas. The not-for-profit Lincoln Community Resource Corporation hopes to turn the school into a mall with a restaurant, stores, and a banquet facility, and eventually re-develop the Christian Science church into a performing-arts hall. "What they're proposing is a blend of the two [older] projects," Larson said.
There are several major complicating factors, however - legal, political, and financial:
· On March 29, the City of Rock Island initiated condemnation proceedings in court on the old Lincoln school building, the first step in forcing Larson to sell the property to the city through eminent domain.
· So far, the City of Rock Island has shown little interest in the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation's ideas. Larson and the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation fear that the city has its own plans for the re-development of the property: high-end condos. The not-for-profit organization also worries that the city will demolish or gut the old school. The city claims that at this point, it has no end-use plans for the property, and no identified developer to take it over. Representatives also said the city hopes to preserve the building.
· Perhaps most significantly, the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation has yet to raise enough money to put a down payment on the school property, and it's still at least several weeks away from approaching banks about loans or gifts. For a group that so far has shown little affinity for fundraising, the $5-million price tag for the Lincoln-school project alone is a massive barrier.
So a property that for several decades nobody seemed to want has become a coveted commodity. The Lincoln Community Resource Corporation has plans for the building but - to date - no money, while the city has the means to acquire it yet has - to date - no stated plans. In the middle is a property owner who wants to fight municipal government because he feels it's overstepping its authority.
"That's Rock Island History"
Pat McLaughlin is an architecture buff and the founder and executive director of the Quad-City Labyrinth Project. When she went by the old school - with its plastic-covered windows and garbage-strewn, fenced-in backyard overgrown with scrub - she thought, "Somebody really needs to do something about that," she recalled. Eventually, it dawned on her: "That person is going to be me."
Given the opportunity, she will gush about the old Lincoln school's "Richardsonian Romanesque" architecture, and point out the hand-chiseled details on the arch over the front entrance and on the curb along 22nd Street. "You cannot re-create a building," she said, either in terms of materials or architecture. As the only example of Romanesque architecture in Rock Island, she said, the building is irreplaceable. She noted that the attic has exposed old-growth Oregon heartwood - which is literally not available any longer. "That's Rock Island history right there for the viewing," she said.
McLaughlin is now the president of the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation.
She first became entangled with the building's future in June 2004, when she presented re-development plans for the Rock Island Armory to city officials. At a meeting on June 25, she mentioned ideas for making the old Lincoln school a live/work arts center. As she remembers the meeting, she was told that the city was not interested in her Armory plans but would like to see her again if she could lure Larson to the negotiating table about the school building. That second meeting was held June 30, according to the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation re-development plan for the school.
Between that meeting and now, McLaughlin has refined her plan for the old Lincoln school, formed the not-for-profit corporation, entered that corporation into a purchase agreement with Larson, and begun the development of a business plan and feasibility study for some of her ideas.
For its part, the city has offered to buy the building from Larson - he did not respond - and laid the legal groundwork for acquiring it through eminent domain.
For months, it's been apparent that the city and McLaughlin's group have been working at cross-purposes. The Rock Island City Council on December 6 authorized condemnation in an ordinance stating that the school building "is a blighted structure and is a blighting influence on the surrounding neighborhood and the community at large as a result of its present condition." Three days later, McLaughlin helped create the Coalition to Save Lincoln School PS04, which on January 27 was incorporated as the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation.
A 2004 city assessment valued the property at $94,000. The purchase agreement between Larson and McLaughlin's group is for significantly more than that amount, although the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation has yet to make a down payment. McLaughlin requested that the agreed-upon price not be made public.
The group plans to turn the first floor of the old school into a marketplace featuring a restaurant and an assortment of shops. The second floor would be used for more shops as well as office space, and the third floor would become a banquet facility, catered by the first-floor restaurant. The Lincoln Community Resource Corporation would maintain and lease the building to tenants.
The organization estimates restoration costs of $3.5 million and re-development costs of $1.5 million.
The Lincoln Community Resource Corporation is presently turning its re-development proposal into a business plan and is conducting a feasibility study focusing on the banquet facility. McLaughlin said she expects both elements to be done this month. After that, the organization will begin raising money in earnest, including approaching banks about gifts or loans.
Although the business plan isn't finished yet, McLaughlin believes that even if the Lincoln-school project were funded exclusively through conventional loans, its revenues could cover project costs within five years. The group is not-for-profit, McLaughlin said, but she expects the project to make plenty of money, which would then be pumped into other initiatives, such as the Christian Science church.
Whether that projection is realistic is impossible to say at this point, however. The best indication of whether the business plan is sound will be how much money banks or other investors put into it.
Without a doubt, the City of Rock Island wants the organization to prove that it has the financial means to get the project done. At a January city-council meeting, Mayor Mark Schwiebert told the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation that the city wasn't interested in assisting the project unless its backers had secured some funding. "'Show us the money' is basically what he said," McLaughlin said.
She wouldn't say how much money the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation has raised, but noted that "I wish we had more." McLaughlin is quick to point out that although her organization hasn't raised enough money yet to purchase the property, it's only been around for a little more than four months.
Demonstrated community support is another barrier. The Lincoln Community Resource Corporation is its five-person board of directors, plus an attorney who has helped draft some documents.
Larson said he's not interested in selling the property to just anybody. "There's no for-sale sign out front," he said. "The buildings are not for sale." But he said he would sell to the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation. "They're a pretty determined group," he said. "I don't think they're going to drop the ball."
But with eminent-domain proceedings already started, Larson conceded the group needs to work quickly. "They know the faster they go, the better off they'll be," he said.
The City's Perspective
Greg Champagne, Rock Island's director of community and economic development, said the city has not closed the door on McLaughlin's organization. "I think we're certainly willing to work with that group," he said.
He added that so far, the Lincoln Community Resource Group hasn't demonstrated that it can raise the money to do the project, or showed the project's market feasibility - shortcomings that McLaughlin acknowledges.
The city sued to condemn the property, he said, to try to save it. The city's primary concern is that the property "gets cleaned up and protected."
The school building's effect on neighboring properties is another issue. "The concern is that it's a blighting influence on the neighborhood," Champagne said, specifically mentioning the troubled Murphy House Lofts project just to the east of the old school. None of the building's four condo units have been sold, and only one has been completed in the more than four years of construction. The city invested $100,000 in the project upfront and has committed another $50,000 toward its completion. The city has no ownership interest in that development.
Champagne said the city has no "firm plans" for the Lincoln-school property, and that no developer is waiting in the wings to take over the building. Furthermore, he said, the city doesn't plan to tear it down. The school is on the National Register of Historic Places, and "we don't go tearing down buildings on the Historic Register," he said. "We have a track record of historic preservation in this community."
If the Lincoln school is structurally unsound, or in a condition in which no amount of money could restore it, it could be demolished, Champagne said.
"There's no way this building would fail inspection," McLaughlin said. "It was built to last. It needs restoration, not demolition."
McLaughlin also contests the city's assertion that the property is blighted. Her organization has held two cleanup days at the old school, picking up trash and cutting brush.
What would the city do with the old school if it acquired it through eminent domain? The most likely scenario would involve the city selling or essentially giving the school to a developer with both the vision and the means to transform it.
Housing seems the most likely development, said Dan Carmody, executive director of Renaissance Rock Island. Carmody hasn't seen the Lincoln Community Resource Group's plan and hasn't been through the school building in roughly four years. But he said that because of available government subsidies and tax credits, mixed-income rental housing is the most cost-effective way to re-develop old buildings. "It's almost out of necessity," he said.
He also said that commercial uses such as shops or restaurants could create conflict with the surrounding neighborhood, particularly the residential Broadway Historic District. Carmody added that Renaissance Rock Island and its subsidiary organizations have little interest in the property; he said it's not on the "short" or "long" list of projects it would like to develop.
"A Tool of Big Developers"
One way or the other, it's likely that Larson will unload the Lincoln-school building sometime soon. "As far as my pocket is concerned, it doesn't matter," Larson said of whether he sells the property to the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation or has it taken through eminent domain.
That's not completely true. If the city's $94,000 assessment is accurate, Larson could end up with less money if he's forced to sell the school building to the city.
Still, Larson views his situation as part of a battle against the abuse of eminent domain across the country. The process was created to allow governments to complete projects clearly for the public good - such as highways, railroads, or public buildings - but now "it's just become a tool of big developers," Larson said.
And the U.S. Supreme Court is looking at the issue. The court heard the case, Kelo v. New London, in February. The key issue is whether government can use eminent domain for private development. The case could be germane to the Lincoln school situation, in the sense that it's unlikely that the city would develop the property itself or use it for a public project such as a park.
Eminent domain is becoming a hot issue nationwide. A 2003 report by the Institute for Justice documented that "in just the past five years the government has taken or threatened to take by force more than 10,000 homes, businesses, churches, and private land not for a 'public use' - such as a police station or post office - but for private economic development."
Anger at what's perceived as eminent-domain abuse cuts across the political spectrum. While it's naturally a conservative issue because of property rights, liberals are outraged that local governments are using eminent domain to assist developers with private projects.
Larson believes that the old Lincoln school is an example of overzealous application of eminent domain, and he hopes the Supreme Court will restrict the ability of government to use eminent domain.
But Carmody thinks the city is pursuing eminent domain as a last resort, having been patient for the two decades Larson has owned the property. "The City of Rock Island has been very cautious with its use of eminent domain," he said.
Shortly after he bought it, Larson - proprietor of the Larson Funeral Home just across the street on Seventh Avenue - crafted a development plan to turn the building, constructed in 1894, into a mall and food court. But when the Farmall plant closed, interested investors became leery of the project, and it died. For 20 years, the building has sat empty.
Last month, the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois placed the school on its list of the 10 most endangered historic structures in Illinois. (For more information, visit http://www.landmarks.org/ten_most_2005_4a.htm.)
In the early 1990s, Larson purchased the First Church of Christ, Scientist, next door to the funeral home and across the street from the old school. Again, he didn't have much sense of what he wanted to do with it. "I bought it for the parking lot," he said.
But his funeral-home organist had an idea for the building itself: a music academy. He hired a director and spent roughly $100,000 on structural improvements and programming. But the academy had trouble attracting students, and "I just pulled the plug on it," he said. "There wasn't anything coming in." For nearly a decade, the former church has been vacant.
Now a small group has come forward looking to purchase both properties and pump new life not only into the buildings but also Larson's ideas. The not-for-profit Lincoln Community Resource Corporation hopes to turn the school into a mall with a restaurant, stores, and a banquet facility, and eventually re-develop the Christian Science church into a performing-arts hall. "What they're proposing is a blend of the two [older] projects," Larson said.
There are several major complicating factors, however - legal, political, and financial:
· On March 29, the City of Rock Island initiated condemnation proceedings in court on the old Lincoln school building, the first step in forcing Larson to sell the property to the city through eminent domain.
· So far, the City of Rock Island has shown little interest in the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation's ideas. Larson and the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation fear that the city has its own plans for the re-development of the property: high-end condos. The not-for-profit organization also worries that the city will demolish or gut the old school. The city claims that at this point, it has no end-use plans for the property, and no identified developer to take it over. Representatives also said the city hopes to preserve the building.
· Perhaps most significantly, the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation has yet to raise enough money to put a down payment on the school property, and it's still at least several weeks away from approaching banks about loans or gifts. For a group that so far has shown little affinity for fundraising, the $5-million price tag for the Lincoln-school project alone is a massive barrier.
So a property that for several decades nobody seemed to want has become a coveted commodity. The Lincoln Community Resource Corporation has plans for the building but - to date - no money, while the city has the means to acquire it yet has - to date - no stated plans. In the middle is a property owner who wants to fight municipal government because he feels it's overstepping its authority.
"That's Rock Island History"
Pat McLaughlin is an architecture buff and the founder and executive director of the Quad-City Labyrinth Project. When she went by the old school - with its plastic-covered windows and garbage-strewn, fenced-in backyard overgrown with scrub - she thought, "Somebody really needs to do something about that," she recalled. Eventually, it dawned on her: "That person is going to be me."
Given the opportunity, she will gush about the old Lincoln school's "Richardsonian Romanesque" architecture, and point out the hand-chiseled details on the arch over the front entrance and on the curb along 22nd Street. "You cannot re-create a building," she said, either in terms of materials or architecture. As the only example of Romanesque architecture in Rock Island, she said, the building is irreplaceable. She noted that the attic has exposed old-growth Oregon heartwood - which is literally not available any longer. "That's Rock Island history right there for the viewing," she said.
McLaughlin is now the president of the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation.
She first became entangled with the building's future in June 2004, when she presented re-development plans for the Rock Island Armory to city officials. At a meeting on June 25, she mentioned ideas for making the old Lincoln school a live/work arts center. As she remembers the meeting, she was told that the city was not interested in her Armory plans but would like to see her again if she could lure Larson to the negotiating table about the school building. That second meeting was held June 30, according to the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation re-development plan for the school.
Between that meeting and now, McLaughlin has refined her plan for the old Lincoln school, formed the not-for-profit corporation, entered that corporation into a purchase agreement with Larson, and begun the development of a business plan and feasibility study for some of her ideas.
For its part, the city has offered to buy the building from Larson - he did not respond - and laid the legal groundwork for acquiring it through eminent domain.
For months, it's been apparent that the city and McLaughlin's group have been working at cross-purposes. The Rock Island City Council on December 6 authorized condemnation in an ordinance stating that the school building "is a blighted structure and is a blighting influence on the surrounding neighborhood and the community at large as a result of its present condition." Three days later, McLaughlin helped create the Coalition to Save Lincoln School PS04, which on January 27 was incorporated as the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation.
A 2004 city assessment valued the property at $94,000. The purchase agreement between Larson and McLaughlin's group is for significantly more than that amount, although the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation has yet to make a down payment. McLaughlin requested that the agreed-upon price not be made public.
The group plans to turn the first floor of the old school into a marketplace featuring a restaurant and an assortment of shops. The second floor would be used for more shops as well as office space, and the third floor would become a banquet facility, catered by the first-floor restaurant. The Lincoln Community Resource Corporation would maintain and lease the building to tenants.
The organization estimates restoration costs of $3.5 million and re-development costs of $1.5 million.
The Lincoln Community Resource Corporation is presently turning its re-development proposal into a business plan and is conducting a feasibility study focusing on the banquet facility. McLaughlin said she expects both elements to be done this month. After that, the organization will begin raising money in earnest, including approaching banks about gifts or loans.
Although the business plan isn't finished yet, McLaughlin believes that even if the Lincoln-school project were funded exclusively through conventional loans, its revenues could cover project costs within five years. The group is not-for-profit, McLaughlin said, but she expects the project to make plenty of money, which would then be pumped into other initiatives, such as the Christian Science church.
Whether that projection is realistic is impossible to say at this point, however. The best indication of whether the business plan is sound will be how much money banks or other investors put into it.
Without a doubt, the City of Rock Island wants the organization to prove that it has the financial means to get the project done. At a January city-council meeting, Mayor Mark Schwiebert told the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation that the city wasn't interested in assisting the project unless its backers had secured some funding. "'Show us the money' is basically what he said," McLaughlin said.
She wouldn't say how much money the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation has raised, but noted that "I wish we had more." McLaughlin is quick to point out that although her organization hasn't raised enough money yet to purchase the property, it's only been around for a little more than four months.
Demonstrated community support is another barrier. The Lincoln Community Resource Corporation is its five-person board of directors, plus an attorney who has helped draft some documents.
Larson said he's not interested in selling the property to just anybody. "There's no for-sale sign out front," he said. "The buildings are not for sale." But he said he would sell to the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation. "They're a pretty determined group," he said. "I don't think they're going to drop the ball."
But with eminent-domain proceedings already started, Larson conceded the group needs to work quickly. "They know the faster they go, the better off they'll be," he said.
The City's Perspective
Greg Champagne, Rock Island's director of community and economic development, said the city has not closed the door on McLaughlin's organization. "I think we're certainly willing to work with that group," he said.
He added that so far, the Lincoln Community Resource Group hasn't demonstrated that it can raise the money to do the project, or showed the project's market feasibility - shortcomings that McLaughlin acknowledges.
The city sued to condemn the property, he said, to try to save it. The city's primary concern is that the property "gets cleaned up and protected."
The school building's effect on neighboring properties is another issue. "The concern is that it's a blighting influence on the neighborhood," Champagne said, specifically mentioning the troubled Murphy House Lofts project just to the east of the old school. None of the building's four condo units have been sold, and only one has been completed in the more than four years of construction. The city invested $100,000 in the project upfront and has committed another $50,000 toward its completion. The city has no ownership interest in that development.
Champagne said the city has no "firm plans" for the Lincoln-school property, and that no developer is waiting in the wings to take over the building. Furthermore, he said, the city doesn't plan to tear it down. The school is on the National Register of Historic Places, and "we don't go tearing down buildings on the Historic Register," he said. "We have a track record of historic preservation in this community."
If the Lincoln school is structurally unsound, or in a condition in which no amount of money could restore it, it could be demolished, Champagne said.
"There's no way this building would fail inspection," McLaughlin said. "It was built to last. It needs restoration, not demolition."
McLaughlin also contests the city's assertion that the property is blighted. Her organization has held two cleanup days at the old school, picking up trash and cutting brush.
What would the city do with the old school if it acquired it through eminent domain? The most likely scenario would involve the city selling or essentially giving the school to a developer with both the vision and the means to transform it.
Housing seems the most likely development, said Dan Carmody, executive director of Renaissance Rock Island. Carmody hasn't seen the Lincoln Community Resource Group's plan and hasn't been through the school building in roughly four years. But he said that because of available government subsidies and tax credits, mixed-income rental housing is the most cost-effective way to re-develop old buildings. "It's almost out of necessity," he said.
He also said that commercial uses such as shops or restaurants could create conflict with the surrounding neighborhood, particularly the residential Broadway Historic District. Carmody added that Renaissance Rock Island and its subsidiary organizations have little interest in the property; he said it's not on the "short" or "long" list of projects it would like to develop.
"A Tool of Big Developers"
One way or the other, it's likely that Larson will unload the Lincoln-school building sometime soon. "As far as my pocket is concerned, it doesn't matter," Larson said of whether he sells the property to the Lincoln Community Resource Corporation or has it taken through eminent domain.
That's not completely true. If the city's $94,000 assessment is accurate, Larson could end up with less money if he's forced to sell the school building to the city.
Still, Larson views his situation as part of a battle against the abuse of eminent domain across the country. The process was created to allow governments to complete projects clearly for the public good - such as highways, railroads, or public buildings - but now "it's just become a tool of big developers," Larson said.
And the U.S. Supreme Court is looking at the issue. The court heard the case, Kelo v. New London, in February. The key issue is whether government can use eminent domain for private development. The case could be germane to the Lincoln school situation, in the sense that it's unlikely that the city would develop the property itself or use it for a public project such as a park.
Eminent domain is becoming a hot issue nationwide. A 2003 report by the Institute for Justice documented that "in just the past five years the government has taken or threatened to take by force more than 10,000 homes, businesses, churches, and private land not for a 'public use' - such as a police station or post office - but for private economic development."
Anger at what's perceived as eminent-domain abuse cuts across the political spectrum. While it's naturally a conservative issue because of property rights, liberals are outraged that local governments are using eminent domain to assist developers with private projects.
Larson believes that the old Lincoln school is an example of overzealous application of eminent domain, and he hopes the Supreme Court will restrict the ability of government to use eminent domain.
But Carmody thinks the city is pursuing eminent domain as a last resort, having been patient for the two decades Larson has owned the property. "The City of Rock Island has been very cautious with its use of eminent domain," he said.
