I am please to report that the permits for demolition of the WWW Tannery Complex have been approved. Wolverine and their contractors will begin demolition tomorrow morning September 1st. Demolition is scheduled to take around two (2) months. Please stay tuned for updates throughout the project.
Below is a link to the demolition work plan that will guide the demolition of the WWW tannery complex and identify the safety precautions that will be put in place.
http://www.rockford.mi.us/pages/images/wwwTanneryWorkPlan.pdf
I wanted to take this time to update you on the redevelopment of the Wolverine World Wide tannery project. The Rockford Planning Commission and City Council have recently approved the rezoning of approximately four (4) acres of property on the southern end of the tannery complex from Industrial to Commercial. This will facilitate the construction of a new retail shoe/apparel store. Before construction of the new store can begin, Wolverine will initiate demolition of all of the structures on site. Demolition crews will begin on the southern end of the property first and continue demolition operations up to the existing retail shoe store. The existing retail shoe store will remain in operation while the new store is being constructed. Once the new shoe store is open, most likely in the summer of 2011, Wolverine will demolish the old shoe store.
Over the next several days, I will provide the residents of Rockford and any interested parties with additional information on the demolition process. One of the more critical documents will be the actual Work Plan, which lays out the procedures for demolition and the safe guards that will be established to ensure that the demolition operation is not a detriment to the community and surrounding neighborhood. I would expect the Work Plan to be available within the next several days.
Currently, Wolverine is completing the reports that will be part of the demolition permitting process at the state and local level. The tentative schedule would have the demolition operation begin the first week in September. The first phase of the demolition will include removal of the old warehouse, office building and power house on the southern end of the tannery complex. This is scheduled to take approximately three (3) weeks and should be completed by late September or early October. The second phase of the demolition will include demolition of the existing tannery, laboratory and wastewater treatment plant, which should be completed in mid to late November.
As you can imagine, this schedule will be flexible depending on the pace of the demolition and weather conditions. Please refer to the City’s web page, my Blog, and our Facebook page to receive updates including photographs, videos and narratives to keep our residents informed of the progress being made towards the ultimate completion of a beautiful new addition to our downtown business district. Should you have any questions regarding this information or anything related to the demolition and redevelopment of the tannery site, please do not hesitate to contact me either by telephone at 866-1537 or email at myoung@rockford.mi.us.
The City of Rockford was founded in 1843, became a Village in 1856 and a City in 1935. To celebrate Rockford’s rich history and our 75th Birthday as a City, we have had commemorative coins produced which are on sale at City Hall for $5.00. The coins are beautiful and will surely be a keep-sake. The City will be hosting a community birthday celebration on August 14th in downtown Rockford featuring a taste of Rockford, kids activities and music. Stay tuned for more details.
Mr. Mayor,
I just read an article in the Rockford Squire about the plans to widen 10 mile.
I was quite disappointed to read that no signal light is planned for the corner of 10 mile and Childsdale. The reason stated was that there is not enough traffic volume on Childsdale. Please consider the demographics of the people that use Childsdale. There are several businesses along Childsdale and is heavily used by Rockford students and parents. I am a business man located along Childsdale and when I need to turn onto10 mile from Childsdale to get to US 131 it takes quite a while to make the turn due to the flow of traffic on 10 mile. I can only imagine having to watch 4 lanes of traffic instead of two in order to make the turn after 10 mile is widened. Please try to lobby the engineers to add a signal light at Childsdale for the safety of the students and parents and business people that use the 10 mile/Childsdale corner.
Sincerely,
Chris Bamford
Chris, The Road Commission has re-evaluated the intersection and is now planning to install a light at 10 Mile and Childsdale.
Michael
I am very pleased to report that our second round of samples has come back clean and the boil water notice that was issued on Tuesday has been lifted. Special thanks to the entire DPS crew for their hard work during this difficult time.
As always, thanks to the city and crew that keep us up to date and safe….
THANK YOU!! Soo glad I discovered this website!
I am happy to report that the first set of water samples came back completely clean and free of any bacteria. The DNRE requires 2 sample periods before lifting the boil water notice. I will have the results of the second samples early tomorrow. Stay tuned for more updates.
Mike McIntosh :
Date: August 29, 2010 @ 4:17 pm
Hi Michael,
Would you confirm when we should expect the demolition to begin? I thought it was planned for September 2. In the 8/26 Rockford Squire, it says “September 1″ in the first paragraph of the article. Is it one of these two dates or is there a new planned date.
Thanks,
Mike McIntosh