Old City Hall Apartments
Rockford, Illinois
This 1996 adaptive re-use of the city of Rockford's Old City Hall building, constructed in 1904, created 31 affordable housing units out of a previously abandoned structure. Once such original features as the two story iron jail cells were demolished, the design took advantage of unusual floor to ceiling heights. Many units are duplex-ed, with a two story living room at the exterior wall and sleeping lofts inboard over dining and kitchen areas. In this manner each unit takes advantage of the extraordinary eight foot tall double hung wood windows, which were fabricated new to match the existing profile of the original fenestration. The project received historic building tax credits and thus adhered to the Department of the Interior and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency's historic restoration and documentation standards. The final result was a highly creative rescue of a grand old building - even the clock tower, once all the pigeon guano was cleaned up, was re-purposed as a master bedroom suite.
Client: Merriam Zuba Ltd.
Team: Ringland Johnson Construction, GC; Edward C. Lin & Associates, Inc., SE; Creative Systems & Assoc., M/E/P
Government Participation: Illinois Housing and Development Authority, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
Scope: 31 dwelling in 19,173 sq. ft. and 3 stories