³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ

Rockford City Council on Monday approved a special use permit that will allow construction of a 240-unit apartment complex and assisted living facility at 6654 Garrett Lane.

Plans call for for four buildings of 60 market rate apartments surrounding a pool and club house. Plans also include a three-story, 136-bed memory care facility.

Ald. Tim Durkee, R-1, opposed the project saying it was too dense, would increase traffic and be detrimental for property values for nearby homeowners.

But others including Ald. Kevin Frost, R-4, Chad Tuneberg, R-3, Bill Rose, D-9, and Gina Meeks, D-12, argued in favor of the proposal.

More:Skinny Dip Inn to renovate iconic downtown Rockford marina

Frost said a city commissioned housing market study found that as many as 9,000 additional residential units are needed in Rockford over the next decade.

"Unless this stays an empty field, any development is going to increase traffic," Tuneberg said.

The project was approved on a 12-2 vote with Durkee and Ald. Jeff Bailey, D-13, opposing it.

Bailey said he would like to see a revised proposal that would reduce its density, perhaps with townhouses instead of the apartment complex that some area residents oppose.

The proposal that was approved on Monday by City Council, was a revised version of a proposal that was first brought forward in 2021 by a Wisconsin-based development group called Rockford Senior Campus LLC. The developer, now based in Oklahoma, did not pursue the idea further until this year.

In this version, the assisted living and memory care facility was reduced from four stories to three. And the apartment complex was reconfigured and reduced to four buildings from a dozen.

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at  (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X.