As the old Rock Island Courthouse gave way to an empty field, catty-corner away workers at the Rock Island County Office Building have begun undergoing $5.65 million in overdue updates and renovations. A pair of projects are underway that were made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). They include $4.9 million to upgrade […]
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As the old Rock Island Courthouse gave way to an empty field, catty-corner away workers at the Rock Island County Office Building have begun undergoing $5.65 million in overdue updates and renovations.
A pair of projects are underway that were made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). They include $4.9 million to upgrade the building’s ancient mechanical systems and $750,000 to remodel the Rock Island County Board Room. The latter also is expected to include reinstallation of the historic, granite Founders Tablets once prominently featured at the now demolished courthouse.
The projects also mark the first time in decades the county has made a major investment in the historically significant office building at 1504 Third Ave., Rock Island, which the county bought from Modern Woodmen of America in 1967.
“There were a lot of capital projects and maintenance that had been deferred for years simply because of the county’s financial position,” current Rock Island County Board Chairman Richard Brunk told the QCBJ. But now that the county is beginning to find its financial footing, he added, its leaders have decided to use the influx of ARPA dollars to “start addressing things that we haven’t been able to address for quite some time.”
Consider that shortly before he joined Rock Island County as interim administrator a few years ago, Jim Grafton said the county board sought a new estimate for renovating the building and its old and outdated mechanicals.
“The costs were pretty high and it was questionable whether the county should invest, say $10 million, in a building that’s only worth $11 million,” he told the QCBJ.
Today, and with the county’s improved financial condition and armed with ARPA funds, the board issued its contractor a new challenge. “We wanted to make improvements that are going to last for 20 years and if we can’t get that kind of life out of the improvements, then we’re not really interested in it,” Mr. Grafton said.
Johnson Controls responded with what Jason Myers, its business development executive, told the county board last year is “an outstanding project for the county” that is “fiscally responsible in making the necessary upgrades to this building that will last for decades without going overboard.”
Mechanical system makeover
One of the centerpieces is modernizing old mechanical systems. That includes replacing old pipes and cables and an unreliable steam boiler and an ancient HVAC system. “Just in the time since I have served in this capacity,” Mr. Brunk said, “we have had the HVAC go out in this building at least three times that I can remember. It’s always when it’s 90-something degrees outside. That obviously makes it very challenging to keep the office functioning.” So do the pair of old and often unreliable elevators. When they break down, it not only impedes county employees from doing their jobs, Mr. Brunk said. It also impacts residents’ ability to navigate the building and take advantage of the menu of services the county offers. Tackling that part of the renovation is Russell and KONE. The Davenport-based Russell became involved in this project after the construction company was approached by the county board to provide a competitive bid for some renovation work, said Erin Wyant, Russell’s director of marketing & client relations. It included the removal and replacement of both elevators and improvements to the elevator shafts within the Rock Island County Zoning & Building Office. “Our self-performance division provided a bid for services, including collaborating with KONE to provide the appropriate elevator services,” she said. Today that project “is moving along as planned, with the first elevator shaft to be completed in August and the other in the upcoming fall,” Ms. Wyant added. Also being addressed by Johnson Controls is an electrical system that Mr. Grafton said is 60-70 years old. Once complete it will feature new LED lights to help reduce the county’s electric bill. New ceiling tiles also are being installed and the old carpet is being replaced and common areas will be painted when the work is completed.Preservation a focus for Estes
Far less expensive, but perhaps more readily apparent to visitors to the building, will be the $750,000 total remake of the building’s county board room by Estes Construction, Davenport. The turnaround for the project also is far shorter than the mechanicals’ redo, Mr. Brunk said. That’s good news for county board members who are now holding committee-of-the-whole and county board meetings in the Rock Island Police Department’s community room. Nicole Cline, senior director of business development and marketing for Estes, told the QCBJ the 90-day project, which began on July 5, is on target to be completed as scheduled on Sept. 5. “We’re not seeing any reason to extend,” she said. “Our team is feeling that it’s on track.” That’s despite the amount of custom millwork built specially for the project which was designed by Davenport-based Bray Architects’ John Mahon, whom Ms. Cline called a “great partner.” It includes the incorporation of the Founders Tablets in the remade board room and to ensure the room maintains the character of the historic building it’s located in, she said. If all goes as expected, those heavy granite slabs inscribed with the names of the county’s founding fathers – which Mr. Brunk said had been carefully removed from the old courthouse before demolition and placed in secure storage – will be featured prominently in this public space. The building’s rich history was part of the draw for Estes, Ms. Cline said. “Estes does a lot of historic renovation. We’re drawn to them, the complexity, the coolness of the projects, the desire to save versus always starting over,” she added. In fact, Estes own headquarters are in renovated space in the Redstone, the former Petersen Harned Von Maur department store. The company also opted in because the renovation is an Impact Project. Signing these Quad Cities labor-management agreements is important to Estes, which she called a proud union contractor. Finally, the historic building, “is in our backyard, right here close to us and we felt like our trades, our craftsmen, our carpenters – and most of our work is carpentry – are amazing at what they do,” she said. “We felt really confident that they could handle the schedule and they could do the work in an amazing way.” In all, the room’s redo will involve carpentry and repairs, walls, floors, ceilings and lighting. Much of the remaining dollars are for technological upgrades. The overall $5.6 million in the building is a significant investment county leaders say, but worth the effort. “It’s a cool building,” Mr. Grafton said of the historically significant structure built in 1898 by Joseph Cullen Root, the founder of Modern Woodmen of America, to house his growing fraternal organization. “It’s been around for over 100 years and it has great bones,” he added. He also said that the pair of projects won’t impact property tax bills for county residents. In fact, he said, Rock Island County lowered its tax levy significantly last year and expects to do the same this year. As for those who “might look at this and say, ‘So that’s where my tax money goes,’’ Mr. Grafton added, “I’d say, ‘Yes, but we’re not asking for more, we’re asking for less.’” The county has not released a timeline for the completion of the entire project. Mr. Brunk said, for example, that some work on the building such as painting in the common areas could continue into next year. In addition to the work Estes is doing, Ms. Cline also said she is excited about the work that will be done by a subcontractor to make it easier for county board members to share information with those who attend the meetings. County leaders also had such improved public access and participation in mind when they tackled the County Board Room redesign. “We definitely wanted to update it and bring it into modern times in a number of ways,” Mr. Brunk said. Atop the list was the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) accessibility, or the lack of it thanks to the old tiered seats. In addition, board seats will be turned around so they “will actually face the public seating area” rather than away under the old configuration, county leaders said. And the redesign will create open space that can be reconfigured for training and other meetings. Importantly, workers also will be replacing outdated audio visual equipment that was not only unreliable, it made it difficult for members of the public to hear what was going on. “We want to make sure that anyone who is attending the meeting can obviously hear what is actually taking place,” Mr. Brunk said. In the works are better microphones as well as improved, modern voting capability and monitors at the front of the room for board members to view. Screens on the ceiling and electronic monitors on the sidewalls are planned. In the future, Mr. Brunk added, “We are actually working toward maybe livestreaming or possibly setting up some kind of YouTube channel.” The timing will depend on costs.Rock Island County Office Building history
- The Italian Renaissance revival structure at 1504 Third Ave., Rock Island, was commissioned in 1898 by the founder of Modern Woodmen of America Foundation.
- The cornerstone was laid on April 27, 1898, during a “great celebration.” Keynote speaker was William Jennings Bryan, the “silver tongued orator,” who ran unsuccessfully three times for president, including that same year against President McKinley.
- It was designed by Drack & Kerns, which also designed the historic downtown Rock Island Public Library, the former L.S. McCabe Department store on Third Avenue, and Immanuel Lutheran Church.
- The building space doubled in size in 1904 with a $150,000 annex described as the exact duplicate of the original building.
- The structure features a raised basement of rusticated stone, topped by three stories of brick and a French clay tile roof. Some terra cotta panels feature a torch and polished granite Ionic columns (Greek design) surround the arched main entrance.
- The interior features marble and polished granite walls, and doorknobs wear the MWA insignia.
- Modern Woodmen sold its former headquarters to Rock Island County shortly after it moved its headquarters to the new riverfront building in 1967.
- In 2009, the building was named one of the City of Rock Island’s 100 Most Significant Unprotected Structures.
