Local Daily Should Shine Light on Downtown Development
Published May 15, 2012 at Rock River Times
In March, the Rock River Times published an article outlining how financial contributors to Mayor Larry Morrissey’s political campaign stand to benefit from plans to turn the city-owned Ingersoll building into a multi-million dollar, publicly-owned sports complex. The Ingersoll building, located along the riverfront at 301-401 S. Madison St. in Rockford, sits just inside the boundary of what NeighborhoodScout.com has called the 14th most dangerous neighborhood in the United States.
Public funding and control over downtown projects has flourished under the Morrissey administration. In 2010, Morrissey oversaw the creation of the Rockford Area Venues and Entertainment (RAVE) Authority to run the city’s increasing portfolio of downtown entertainment assets. That same year, a public/private partnership called Rock River Development Partnership (RRDP) created an outdoor city market on the east bank of the river between State and Jefferson streets. RRDP was cofounded by Larry Morrissey and Peter Provenzano, president of SupplyCore and the registered agent for Madison Street Properties, LLC.
Madison Street Properties, LLC owns a substantial amount of property around the Ingersoll building. Danny Lorden, president of Progressive Development LLC and co-manager of Madison Street Properties, is a former board member of RRDP. In 2010, Progressive Development purchased the Salvation Army’s Millennium Center on Madison Street at nearly half its listed value. The Millennium Center is in eyeshot of the Ingersoll building.
