Sterling may consider shift in Riverfront Reimagined plan

STERLING – The Sterling Riverfront Commission and members of the Sterling City Council left with more questions than answers after meeting Thursday to discuss aspects of the Riverfront Reimagined Project.

Ron Clewer of developer Gorman & Co. was absent from the meeting because of an illness and therefore was unavailable to answer the council’s questions regarding his updated report on environmental testing performed at the National Manufacturing site.

City Manager Scott Shumard said the original agreement with Stanley-Black & Decker, negotiated in 2013 and 2014, called for the environmental testing and remediation of buildings that were then assumed to stay, while others would be demolished and capped.

A new possibility

Until now, several buildings at the National site, including buildings 9, 10 and 11, were being considered for demolition, but Clewer’s report suggested an alternative – repurposing the buildings and conducting additional environmental and other safety testing to seal any concerns at a cost of about $140,000.

“There’s an interested party who has expressed interest in turning these buildings into senior assisted living,” Riverfront Commission co-Chairman Marc Geil read from Clewer’s report. “This is a far better use and would drive revenue for the city versus demolition, which will be significantly higher than $140,000.”

The report did not name the interested party, but it suggested the council could adjust its budget to allow for the additional testing to the buildings by reducing $140,000 from funds currently dedicated to cleanup, windows, lighting and signage improvements at National.

However, keeping the buildings and developing an assisted-living facility means the city would have to fill out whatever space remains. The council wondered whether it would be better to put the senior facility in a different building.

“Is it that the assisted-living facility would maybe not be able to take as much usage of the tax credits on the historic part of the buildings, and so that’s why they’re shifting them to these nonhistoric portions?” Geil said. “Theoretically, if we knew that the other spaces were going to be filled, I don’t think anybody would have any opposition to that. It’s just a question of, ‘Are we missing out on a potential tenant?’”

The council agreed that those questions and others are best answered by Clewer before making any changes to the budget.

More questions

“Now that we have a developer and a more developed vision, the prospect of demolition has been reduced,” Shumard said. “Some buildings now have potential users, and others were found to be important to retain in order to have the opportunity to get historic tax credits to assist with the renovations.”

The Illinois Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program offers a state income tax credit of 25% for the costs of renovating certified historic buildings, with a maximum credit of $3 million.

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 offers a federal income tax credit to owners of historic buildings who make substantial renovations to turn them into income-producing properties, while allowing owners to subtract 20% of the renovation costs from their federal income taxes.

Shumard said the city must first apply for those credits before receiving the money. But this leaves the council with more unanswered questions: Which specific buildings qualify for the tax credits, and if they tear down those buildings, do they lose those tax credits?

Also, should the council decide to follow Clewer’s recommendations and adjust the budget, will the new budget leave enough money to deal with the proposed improvements at National?

“Originally, the plan was to remove the Lawrence [Bros. building] windows and install banners in most of the windows,” Geil read from the report. “With the recommended budget change, we will need to once again change.”

Clewer’s report recommended that the council get a cost redetermination based on the number of windows that can be treated within the new budget and focus their efforts there.

The National roof and riverfront park

“To my understanding, the [National] roof was starting to leak to a point where it needed to be repaired now or face paying more money caused by water damage,” 3rd Ward Alderman Josh Johnson said.

Shumard said he does not yet have all the details regarding the roof, as Gorman & Co. is taking the lead on the project, but he said the work is for the roof of the building furthest west and is currently estimated to cost more than $500,000.

Unless something changes, Johnson said, the city still is planning for an early October groundbreaking of its riverfront park, which is scheduled to be finished in May or June next year.

The commission plans to meet again at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18.