Rockford could buy, demolish six more homes along flood-prone Keith Creek

Rockford officials are seeking more than $1.5 million in state funds to purchase six properties along the Keith Creek Corridor.

The Rockford City Council’s planning and development committee voted Monday to recommend applying for a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Flood Hazard Mitigation Program, which would cover the cost of acquiring and demolishing the properties.

City officials expect that, if Rockford receives the grant, the project will take 18 months.

The proposed buyouts would continue a yearslong effort to raze structures along Keith Creek and replace them with greenspace to reduce flooding risk in an area that has repeatedly faced water damage and dangerous conditions during storms. In mid-July, storms flooded basements and roads near Keith Creek.

The six properties belong to owners who expressed interest after the city sent a letter last year notifying property owners in the Keith Creek floodplain about flood preparation and the city’s buyout program.

The city received the six responses prior to the flooding this July. City stormwater manager Brad Holcomb wrote in an email that he plans to send another round of letters this fall.

More: A flood of frustration: Rockford residents say flooding fix is overdue

Rockford has previously used grants to remove more than 120 properties near Keith Creek, according to a document Holcomb submitted to the city.

Most of those properties were acquired after flooding devastated the area around Keith Creek in 2006 and 2007. The city’s demolition of 112 buildings in the Churchill Park neighborhood took more than four years to complete as officials worked to secure state and federal funds.

In 2021, Rockford sought Flood Hazard Mitigation Program funding to purchase and demolish three properties along Keith Creek. One of those — the Charles Street Shopping Center at 2233 Charles St. — was torn down earlier this summer . The owners of the other two properties backed out, Holcomb wrote.

The city’s buyouts have all been voluntary, according to Holcomb.

The City Council will vote on whether to approve the grant application on Sep. 2 at its next meeting.

Plans for redeveloping the Keith Creek Corridor have long been discussed. But it’s not clear when, or whether, they’ll get off the ground.

In 2019, the community development arm of Zion Lutheran Church endorsed adding a 4.5-mile greenway with a multiuse trail running from Aldeen Park to downtown.

A 2022 study from the Region 1 Planning Council recommended naturalizing the creek channel and allowing the creek to follow a new, meandering path. That could slow the flow of water and support more native vegetation.

"Our ultimate goal is to reduce flooding in this area," Holcomb wrote. "We’re still at options on how to achieve that."

Ald. Jonathan Logemann (D-2), who represents some of the neighborhoods along Keith Creek, said major redevelopment along the creek could cost tens of millions of dollars. He said securing federal and state funding could be a slow, incremental process.

"It's going to take 20 years as the city keeps chipping away," he said.

Tilly Robinson is a summer reporting intern with the Gannett/USA Today Network at the Rockford Register Star. She can be reached via email at mrrobinson@gannett.com and on X @ tillyrobin .

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford could buy, demolish six more homes along flood-prone Keith Creek