A Rockford art organization purchased a historic building. It is now waiting to see if it receives a grant to help move things forward.
The Rockford Area Arts Council purchased the Illinois National Guard Armory building, 605 Main St. for $1000 last Thursday, Nov. 14.
Mary McNamara Bernsten is the executive director of the arts council. She said the council needed to own the building before they could apply for an Environmental Protection Agency grant.
“We will not know if we were awarded that grant until May of 2025," she said, "so now it's a sit and wait game.”
She said purchasing the real estate is the first step among many.
“And it's going to be a long process," she said. "We really are so excited about the positive feedback we've received from the community. We know now for certain that this is a community project people are excited about.”
Some plans for the building include a civic center and resident artists spaces.
“You won't only see on site programming and galleries and shows and concerts that could happen,” she said, “because these creatives are all in one spot and they're living sort of collectively and collaboratively, but you'll also see them addressing community issues and community challenges in ways that we haven't even thought of yet.”
McNamara said while the council waits to learn about the grant, it will talk to community partners and look at current armories and like structures to see how they could help create a sustained funding model.
