The buzz around Main Street Roscoe is getting louder

Residents of Roscoe and surrounding communities have been hearing a lot about changes and improvements coming to the Village.

Incorporated in 1965, the Village of Roscoe is now home to almost 11,000 residents. But while nearby Rockford has successfully re-invented itself and become a destination for events and celebrations, Roscoe has pretty much remained the same.

Well, that’s about to change. New beginnings are on the horizon.

Roscoe continues to grow. Many families move to the area because of the highly regarded schools and the values of living in a small community.

Kinnikinnick School District includes Ledgewood Elementary, Stone Creek Elementary and Roscoe Middle School.

The schools feed into Hononegah Community High School which serves about 2,000 students from Roscoe, Rockton, South Beloit and Shirland.

The schools, especially Hononegah Community High School, are consistently rated among the best in the Rockford and Stateline areas.

Village trustees agreed that the first order of business in rebuilding and reimaging Roscoe is to take care of the basics such as infrastructure and streets.

This is the non-glamorous but necessary part of the project. According to officials, it won’t be a quick fix. The project will take several years to complete.

The first issue to tackle is adding off-street parking. Right now, parking availability is limited in the downtown Main Street corridor. This area includes the Roscoe Police Department, Village Hall, (which also houses the Department of Motor Vehicles), and the Harlem-Roscoe Fire Station #1. Changes in parking patterns and off-street parking is needed.

Last year, the village purchased property at 5466 Bridge Street, behind Velvet Robot Coffee Lab for $107,700. Northern Illinois Service Company was paid $15,290 to demolish the house on the property, which had been the location of A Little Bird Told Me.

A large covered off-street parking lot is soon to be built on the site. The expanse will include space for food trucks, a farmer’s market and a patio area for hosting small events. The covered parking lot is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Additionally, the village has purchased 1.6 acres at Hodges Run and Main Street, for future development, as well as 11243 Main Street. 

Hononegah Community High School Industrial Technology and Engineering students, under the direction of instructor Jason Gladowski, are constructing small buildings to be used as business incubators at the Hodges Run property. 

Increased development and a more dense, walkable Main Street will also increase tax revenue for the Village. In 2022, before the Village bought these three properties, they brought in less than $714 in tax dollars for the Village of Roscoe.

Planning has begun for a Main Street Downtown Redevelopment Program. The public is invited to attend workshops at Village Hall and participate in the planning process.

The village has applied for several grants, including Congressional funding, direct funding requests for Senate appropriations from Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth offices, and the Transportation Enhancement (ITEP) grant that will cover 80% of the cost, which is estimated at more than $10 million.

In 2022, the cost of a more limited streetscape plan was $3,586,675, of which the Village would have paid $717,335. The Village has applied for a big grant to help cover for comprehensive development of Main Street. 

The village has hired consultants at Place Foundry to provide coaching, design and development. The firm works with private, public and non-profit businesses that are looking to build destinations.

The streetscape design phase of downtown Roscoe development will begin after completion of the infrastructure phase.

In 2023, Roscoe elected Carol Gustafson as president of the Board of Trustees, replacing Mark Szula. Gustafson previously served as a trustee for 12 years.

William Babcock, Michael Wright, and Mike Sima were elected as trustees. They shared Gustafson’s vision for change, with a specific goal in mind: make Roscoe a better place to live.

Voters agreed. The new trustees joined seasoned board members Sue Petty, Stacy Mallicoat and Justin Plock.

Trustee Mike Wright is excited to get started on the plans for the future of Roscoe. He says, “Get ready, Roscoe, great things are about to happen.”

A previous version of this story misidentified the Hononegah's Industrial Technology and Engineering student project. We also repeated the estimate for the 2022 streetscape plan, instead of the current $10 million estimate.

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