Redevelopment of Barber-Colman campus in Rockford to begin this year
The first phase of redevelopment of the historic Barber-Colman campus in Rockford, IL, is expected to begin this year.
The 23-acre, 10-building complex was once home to textile machinery manufacturer, Barber-Colman. It has been vacant since 2001. The City of Rockford bought the land in 2002 and performed environmental clean-up and site work to position it for redevelopment.
It was sold to J. Jeffers & Company, a Milwaukee-based developer, which plans to reinvent the property as Colman Yards, a nod to Barber-Colman founder Howard Colman, who held nearly 150 industrial patents and grew the company into a multi-national corporation.
IMEG, as a subconsultant to Studio GWA, will provide MEP and fire protection engineering design and energy modeling services for Building 5, a 161,000-sf building that once housed Mr. Colman’s library and office. It will be redeveloped into 181 residential units.
The site plan includes industrial lofts, town homes, commercial and retail storefronts with riverfront access, all built around a central green.
Read more.