I have to give credit to city officials who, on Monday, made the difficult decision to get rid of Hickory Grove.
Back in the 1980s, it made sense to take advantage of state grants to build a center that would be an asset to the community.
There was supposed to be a theater, which ended up as a multi purpose room. For years, VCCT staged plays there but it was not an ideal performance space.
The dream of attracting small conventions and expositions never seemed to come to fruition, but local service clubs and organizations have used Hickory Grove for years as meeting places.
Many events were held there over the years: the Firemen’s Ball, From the Heart, weddings, birthdays, Quinceañeras, swimming parties, auctions, concerts and even a wrestling match, to name a few. But the building never seemed to be a good fit.  
Tenants were hard to find, and they were the revenue producers.

Even though it was under the watch of the Ogle County Civic Center Authority, the county never had a financial obligation to the complex.
Robin Baldwin Gounaris tried for years to make a restaurant a go, but a restaurant on the second floor of a building with virtually no street exposure is a tough sell. Kudos to her for keeping it going as long as she did.
At the council meeting, city Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh gave a timeline of mid-July for beginning the demolition process — salvaging what can be reused and getting bids. The work hopefully will be completed by early 2021.
The hotel and condos will still be there, although I expect guests and residents will be a little disturbed by the noise of the demolition and future construction.
Fiegenschuh indicated there were a couple of developers interested in the bare property but that’s a decision far down the road.
To me, it would be an ideal location for a convention center type facility with a new, modern kitchen, a couple of banquet rooms, and a restaurant on the ground floor with plenty of curb appeal.
The big issue with any development will be parking. There are times when parking is a nightmare with multiple events taking place.  
Change is never easy. I still hear people complain that the old high school was demolished, although after spending time in the “new” high school I can’t imagine why.
Sometimes change is necessary and a good thing.  
Onward to the future!

Terry Dickow is a retired elementary school teacher with lots of opinions, some you will like, some you won’t. He can be contacted at terrydickow@gmail.com.