Davis Park Redevelopment

Davis Park Rockford, IL

This redevelopment plan seeks to revitalize Davis Park in downtown Rockford, located along the Rock River’s eastern edge just across from the current downtown hub. Through various interactions with community members it became evident there existed a lack of vision for the current form and utility of Davis Park, in particular its lone standing structure, the Lorden Building. While interviewing residents there was surprisingly little sentiment for the existing conditions, and the predominant opinion supported leveling the site and beginning anew. When referencing the Lorden, common verbage included ‘ugly’, ‘unsafe’, and ‘useless’. It was apparent that the site has become viewed simply for what it currently is, and not for the utility it can attain. The objective of this proposal was to disrupt the current mindset and form of Davis Park to formulate a new destination node for the city of Rockford.