ROCHELLE — At its June 9 meeting, the Rochelle City Council unanimously approved a $286,682 bid from DPI Construction, Inc. for the construction of a pocket park at 517 W. 4th Ave.
In February 2024, the former Vinny's Barber Shop building located at 517 W. 4th Ave. was purchased by the city and demolished due to structural issues. In May 2024, Studio GWA shared site plans and cost estimates for a pocket park as a discussion item with the city council. The city chose the pocket park option to fill the space as part of its effort to "create an attractive, friendly, walkable downtown."
The concept plan includes a seat wall, native plantings and an asphalt area for a potential food truck or vendor space. A potential mural may be included in the plan.The space could be used for live music as well. The pocket park project will be paid for through Downtown TIF bonds.
“I am extremely excited to be able to bring that space to life,” City Community Development Director Michelle Pease said. “It was a building that was condemned due to structural issues and we're going to create a gathering space for visitors, residents, downtown shop owners and patrons to use on a regular basis to do things like sitting and eating. It can also be used as a small venue for an acoustic guitar performance or a food vendor. The ultimate goal is to create some foot traffic for our businesses downtown.”
City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said the contract for the work has been signed and the project will begin as soon as the contractor can get started. Pease said she’d like to see the work done by the end of the year.
The pocket park is the latest in a long list of downtown improvements that will take place in Rochelle this year. The city has a grant-funded project that recently saw parking lots reconstructed and will also see new parking lots and the construction of a bathrooms and stage structure off Main Street. Utility undergrounding is expected to take place downtown this year as well.
“I think when we invest in our downtown it shows that it's important to us and we're proud of it,” Pease said. “That investment and support from our officials creates a sense of pride. It's important to maintain our downtown and to continue to create those spaces where people want to be.”
Pease said the demolition of the former building at the site addressed issues with blight and vacancy. The city usually works to fill vacant storefronts, but the building had unsafe structural issues that would have cost more than the total value of the building to fix.
Pease and Fiegenschuh said the demolition was unfortunate, but the pocket park will fill the space left behind. Fiegenschuh said that the space was also considered for parking, but was too small for that purpose. A new building could not have been erected on the spot due to it having existing buildings on both sides. The city also considered leaving it as grass space, but decided against that, to use it as an outdoor gathering and venue space.
Local Mexican restaurant El Sol is just two doors down from where the pocket park will be, and Pease said it could serve as an overflow seating space for the business when it’s overwhelmed at lunch and dinner times. She and Fiegenschuh are excited about the opportunities that will be allowed by the pocket park’s location.
“The Flagg Township Museum across the street hosted its Cutting the Square event recently and I think this space could be good for something like that,” Fiegenschuh said. “I think there's a lot of opportunity to partner with organizations like the museum or businesses or use it for the Christmas Walk. There are just a lot of good opportunities. We took a building that was about ready to fall down and we're going to turn it into a venue space that will be utilized quite frequently.”
