What may be the final effort to save Rock Island Firehouse No. 5 failed to receive any viable requests for proposals (RFP) by the March 31 deadline, according to Rock Island City Manager Todd Thompson.
Supporters had hoped another RFP process – prompted by aldermen last month – would result in a viable plan to rehabilitate the vacant and dilapidated historic fire station located in Douglas Park neighborhood.
At that Monday, Feb. 13, council meeting, aldermen tabled until the council’s May 22 meeting the approval of a contract of up to $79,750 with Valley Construction to demolish the century-old building.
For several years, city staff has recommended demolition of the building that sits next to Douglas Park – the historic site of the first NFL football game on Sept. 26, 1920 – due to its deteriorating condition and the high price tag attached to plans to save it.
Since Rock Island is under the gun to use federal funding that was provided for the firehouse project, Miles Brainard, the city’s community and economic development director, said the RFP process would likely be preservationists’ last, best Hail Mary shot at saving it.
That last-ditch effort sought qualified developers or historic preservation professionals to rehabilitate the historic, prairie-style brick structure, built in 1915, and return it to productive use.
The firehouse, which the state has said is qualified for the National Register of Historic Places, was in service as a fire station until the 1970s. It was later used as storage.
The RFP also required applicants to demonstrate their financial capacity to complete the rehabilitation and the successful bidder would undertake rehabilitation without any financial assistance from the city. Upon the successful completion of the project, the city would convey the property to the developer for $1.
Preservationists have been trying off and on since 2017 to save the building and potential uses discussed included an African American Museum, a youth center, and a museum to commemorate the park’s place in history as the host of the first NFL game. Tours were conducted, but no takers materialized.
The problem was twofold: a lack of funding and the high cost of doing the renovations necessary to comply with State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) guidelines. Then came COVID-19 and city staff departures changes which delayed any movement on the firehouse. That changed when a re-staffed and re-energized Community and Economic Development Department along with the Rock Island Parks Department revisited the issue.
When aldermen delayed demolition two months ago, city staff warned that the Community Development Block Grant funding for the demolition was approved in the program year 2019. Mr. Brainard said then that if the city hits the four-year mark without spending any of the money on the firehouse this spring, the city’s CDBG representative warned that Rock Island should return it.
“If the funds are returned, the next opportunity for CDBG funding to be allocated for the demolition would be in the 2024 Annual Action Plan,” Mr. Brainard added. That plan would be developed in Spring 2024 and the project couldn’t take place until Fall 2024.
