City of Rockford works to give ‘middle’ neighborhoods more attention

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The City of Rockford and the Region 1 Planning Council developed a Livable Communities Initiative (LCI) to focus on improving “middle” neighborhoods in the area.

Executive Director of R1 Michael Dunn said for the pilot program, the group conducted data to determine which neighborhoods fall under this category.

“It’s not the worst of the worst neighborhoods, which we are already dealing with,” Dunn said. “These are neighborhoods that sometimes, because they’re doing well enough, get ignored.”

The program combines federal and local funding for improvements like additional housing, sidewalk repairs, access to transportation and community gardens.

Dunn said a program like this is necessary across the area.

“At a time where Rockford’s got a strong housing market, when northern Illinois has seen region wide housing prices go up, there’s no better time to reinvest in our neighborhoods,” Dunn said.

For the pilot year of 2024, the Keith Creek neighborhood was selected for improvements. 2nd Ward Alderman Jonathan Logemann said he applied for consideration and is excited for this area to get more attention.

“These are fragile neighborhoods,” Logemann said. “We want to make sure we’re investing the resources we can [in order] to protect people’s property values.”

MPO Director for R1 Tim Verbeke said the group has determined eight neighborhoods that are in the “middle” range across Rockford and Belvidere. Verbeke said they plan to improve each one.

“We’re looking at housing development, we’re looking at neighborhood development, we’re looking at even park development,” Verbeke said. “I’m trying to see how we can repurpose those lands that we have currently vacant to be utilized by the public.”

Verbeke said the goal of the project is to move these neighborhoods from “middle” to “excellent.”

“Every neighborhood should be excellent, right?” Verbeke said. “This is a great opportunity for us to take those neighborhoods that are just one small investment away from becoming really excellent neighborhoods and really strong places within the community.”

The Keith Creek improvements are expected to be complete by spring of 2026. Residents are encouraged to attend a meeting on Wednesday, May 14th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church to see and hear the plans for the neighborhood.

Applications for the second round of funding open on June 2nd.