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Wednesday, September 7, 2016 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
TWIN CITIES | REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS STERLING
ROCK FALLS
Deal set in stone
City another step closer to razing Limestone Building BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
The Sterling City Council approved an agreement Tuesday that will allow Sterling Today to reimburse the city for rental assistance in two units of the Lawrence Lofts. The deal fulfills a funding requirement for the downtown redevelopment project.
Rent payment deal approved Nonprofit will reimburse city for rent assistance for two units in low-income apartment complex BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – The city will be reimbursed by Sterling Today to fulfill a funding requirement for the Lawrence Lofts redevelopment project. The Sterling City Council approved an agreement Tuesday that will pay the developer of the 20 apartments above the Whiteside County Courthouse at 101 E. Third St. for a rental assistance program. The program applies to only two units. Nineteen of the apartments were to be rent-restricted under the federal low-income housing tax credit program for tenants with an income of 60 percent or less of area median income.
To satisfy the requirements for tax credits, two units also must be made available to tenants at 30 percent or less of area median income. The agreement stipulates that funds from the new Central Business District East tax increment financing district can be used to reimburse the developer for costs of the rental assistance program. The city will use TIF money for the two studio units, but Sterling Today has agreed to then reimburse the city. “The TIF will write the check, and the nonprofit will pay the city,” City Manager Scott Shumard said. “It’s just a procedural thing to comply with the federal tax credits program.” The agreement calls for the developer to be paid $200 per month per unit by
Next meeting The Sterling City Council next meets at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at City Hall, 212 Third Ave., in the first-floor Council Chambers. Go to sterling-il.gov or call City Hall at 815-632-6621 for an agenda or more information. the city, at a total amount not to exceed $52,800 over the 11-year life of the pact. The developers, known as Lawrence Lofts LP, are private investors organized by Rock Island Economic Growth Corp., a national nonprofit organization that put together several layers of financing for the project. Janna Groharing, executive director of Sterling Today, said a start date has not yet been announced, but she expects construction will soon begin. STERLING continued on A54
ROCK FALLS – The city entered into a financing agreement with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday, clearing the way for the Limestone Building to come down. The city learned Aug. 11 that it would receive money from the IEPA’s Revolving Loan Fund for asbestos mitigation and demolition of the building on West First Street. That’s the last big obstacle to riverfront redevelopment. Grants and loans from the federal brownfields program are administered through the state EPA. The city asked for $300,000, and learned that $200,000 of that will come in the form of a grant. If all goes according to plan, the rest might not be needed. “If we can hold the line on costs, and no unexpected issues pop up, we probably won’t need the $100,000 loan,” Mayor Bill Wescott said. In spring 2014, the city learned it would receive a $200,000 federal EPA assessment grant to get the process started. Some of the remaining assessment work will have to be done as the building is being taken down. It contains asbestos, but because of its condition, workers couldn’t safely enter to remove it. ROCK FALLS continued on A54
OGLE COUNTY
Owner puts down a new steak Popular diner, Grubsteakers, reopens a year and half after a tornado knocked it down BY VINDE WELLS vwells@shawmedia.com Shaw Media
ROCHELLE – Seventeen months after it was destroyed by a tornado, a well-known Ogle County restaurant is ready to reopen in its brand-new building. Ava Mirtoska, owner of Grubsteakers, on the northeast corner of state Routes 64 and 251,
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said she expects to be back in business bright and early this morning for the breakfast crowd. “I am so excited. I can’t wait,” she said Monday, while running last-minute errands. “I’m happy to be back where I belong.” Opening-day hours will be 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Grubsteakers was in the direct path of the tornado that tore through Lee, Ogle, and DeKalb counties on April 9, 2015. Two weeks after the storm, Mirtoska was recognized by the Ogle County Board for her actions that night: She saw the storm approaching and, with just minutes to spare, ushered her customers and employees into a storm cellar. GRUBSTEAKERS continued on A124 ABBY.................... A8 BUSINESS.......... A12 COMICS................B6
CROSSWORD.....B11 FOOD...............A9-10 LIFESTYLE............ A8
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media
Grubsteakers owner Ava Mirtoska stands in the one of the restaurant’s new dining areas. The restaurant will open Wednesday, nearly a year and a half after a tornado brought it down.
LOTTERY.............. A2 OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6
Today’s weather High 87. Low 72. More on A3.
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