Structural damage spells the end for downtown Rock Falls building

ROCK FALLS – A building empty about a decade on the main thoroughfare into Rock Falls was demolished this week.

The building at 211 First Ave./state Route 40, former home of Rock Falls Billiards Club and The Other Side Teen Club/Family Center, was torn down because the roof of the single-story addition in the back collapsed.

The back section has been roped off since the beginning of summer, and Friday, Patrick Burke of Burke Excavating in Tampico, who was hired by owner Leda Bartolomei, began demolition.

He wrapped up Tuesday, once he was able to get a truck to haul out the debris, Burke said.

Bartolomei, 90, of Dixon, also has owned Al & Leda’s Pizzeria there since 1960.

The building is separated by an alley to another long-empty building, at 201 First Ave.

It’s on the southeast corner of First Avenue/state Route 40 and East Second Street, at the second-busiest intersection in Whiteside County.

That 112-year-old, 14,000-square-foot structure, which started life as a Masonic hall, has been empty since 2007, when, after six years leasing the space, Sauk Valley Bank moved its branch office to 904 First Ave.

Its appearance has been the source of multiple complaints – the facade was removed in June 2018, when it appeared some of the bricks started crumbling away.

It’s owned by Rock Falls attorneys Louis Pignatelli, senior and junior, who, because of its proximity to not only the heart of the downtown, but also to the town’s ongoing and planned riverfront development, are working to find investors to develop it into a mixed-use site.

They envision multiple restaurants or other hospitality venues on the lower floor and on the rooftop, which would provide a view of the river, and medical/professional/office space on the second floor.