A developing debate in Oregon

OREGON – Several Remax “for sale” signs are plastered around the two-story Manzullo building at the northwest corner of state Routes 2 and 64 in the heart of this Ogle County seat.

That vacant building, along with several others around it, is also at the heart of a dispute over how – and whether – the city of 3,700 people has an urgent need to spur downtown development and stem deterioration of the town’s economic base.

On one side of the debate is a minority of the city council and an aggressive developer, whose ambitious plans have included discussion of tearing down several buildings in the downtown area.

On the other side are historical preservation advocates who have convinced third-term Mayor Tom Stone that the planned development was too much, too fast for this conservative community.

So far, the history buffs have won.

One vote stopped development plan

Oregon’s leaders take pride in downtown, but they differ over its future.

Earlier this year, the city council – in a 3-2 vote – pulled the plug on a tentative plan for a two-block development that would have included a second downtown grocery store.

Supporters of the development, including City Council member Ken Williams, want the town to aggressively pursue sales tax-generating businesses. They see the plan’s death as a missed opportunity.

Others take a more laid-back approach. Mayor Stone, who ultimately opposed the development, says people move to Oregon because they like it as it is.

Last year, the city obtained a $75,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce and Economic Development to create an economic development plan. The city decided to use $59,000 of that money to hire developer Dave Diamond for a blueprint to redevelop downtown.

Even Stone supported the hiring of Diamond, who is president of Walter Wayne Development in Rochelle, which last year unsuccessfully proposed a truck stop development in southeastern Lee County.

In Oregon, some of Diamond’s preliminary drawings showed existing buildings, including the historical museum and four homes, being demolished or moved. Some early discussion also involved demolition of the Coliseum, a downtown landmark.

As part of the downtown proposal, Sullivan’s Foods, a regional grocery chain, considered building a 36,000- to 39,000-square-foot grocery to replace its store on the south side. The development also was said to include an urgent care clinic and other retail or service businesses.

The proposed development included the 100 blocks of North Fourth Street (state Route 2), North Fifth and Sixth streets, bordered on the north by Franklin Street and by Washington Street (state Route 64) to the south.

The project suffered a big setback March 26 when the Ogle County Historical Society board unanimously voted against moving the Ruby Nash Museum to make way for the development.

Stone also came out against the plan.

“The city is not really ready for downtown development,” he concluded.

Shortly after that, Diamond told the Economic Development Advisory Commission the two-block plan was not viable without support from the historical society. For similar reasons, he agreed with Stone’s assessment.

“As I look around,” Diamond said, “Oregon is not quite ready for a development.”

‘Tearing things down not our solution’

Williams admits that amid early discussion about possible demolitions, he and other supporters lost control of their message.

“Tearing things down is not our solution,” he said. “The message that got out was that we had bulldozers at the edge of town. We were never successful to counter that.”

Still, he argues the status quo is unacceptable.

“Some say they didn’t want downtown changed,” he said. “But it’s already changed – there’s nothing going on down there.”

As it is, he said, Oregon is not doing enough retail trade to get the tax revenue to fix crumbling buildings. The town has recently lost its local Ford and General Motors franchises, and Sullivan’s closed its southside store after the development plan was killed. Auto dealers and grocers often are a city’s primary sources of sales tax revenue.

Gary Davis, an Oregon insurance agent and a former member of the city’s Economic Development Advisory Commission, was among the project’s supporters.

“This [development] was a gift in economically depressed times,” said Davis, an elected park board member whom the mayor dismissed from the appointed development panel. “We had the mayor and other supporters pull out. This project could have been part of the solution.”

‘Oregon is never going away’

Stone acknowledged the town has taken economic hits, as have other communities around the Midwest. But he said Oregon doesn’t need to transform downtown.

“People move to Oregon, Illinois, because they want to live in Oregon,” said Stone, a former truck sales manager for the now-closed Ford dealership. “They like the ambiance. They don’t want buildings torn down.”

The mayor said he was disappointed in how the city ultimately spent the grant money, but he said no study is in vain. The study, he said, gathered valuable information on buildings downtown.

Oregon has no economic development director, so it does not aggressively seek businesses to move to town, Stone said. But officials work hard to help companies who are interested in expanding or in moving to the community, he said.

Stone noted a liquor store is under construction on the site of a former gas station along Route 64, and a new auto parts store is planned on the south side. Besides, he argues, the county court system constantly brings people to town to pay their fines.

“Oregon is not going to fall apart,” he said. “It’s the county seat.”

Stone contends Diamond was too close to Sullivan’s Foods. He says their plan was intended to put the locally owned Supervalu grocery, a block north of the planned development, out of business.

The mayor also said Diamond was too secretive about which companies he was working with.

Diamond said that’s typical with development – companies want confidentiality while they are exploring options.

Stone questioned whether a second grocery store brings in new tax revenue. People in other towns have their own supermarkets and would have no incentive to travel to Oregon to spend their money, he said. So the new store would merely continue to split the market, not expand it, he reasoned.

The other proposed businesses also would have done little to improve the town’s sales tax base, Stone said.

Diamond disagreed.

“The leadership of Oregon has protectionist policies for existing businesses,” he said.

The city, Diamond said, should promote growth and let businesses sort out the competitive issues themselves. A new, larger grocery store, for instance, could have provided selections for people with dietary restrictions, customers who are now going to Rockford and Rochelle for such items, he said.

The development would have attracted even more businesses to town, Diamond said.

“If you offer a larger range of goods and services, you attract more people into the community,” he said. “Then there are other things they will need.”

‘A terrible waste of money’

Williams shares the mayor’s disappointment about the state grant, but he argues the city should have followed through to complete a plan – whether or not the council would ever approve it.

“It’s a terrible waste of money,” he said, “but it’s not on our shoulders.”

Williams and council member Pat Wiesner know they’re a council minority. The council’s three Toms – Tom Stone, Tom Izer and Tom Miller – voted to stop the downtown development plan. All five were elected (or re-elected) just last year, so no election is imminent that might reverse the council’s action.

By Williams’ analysis, the plan’s opponents are made up of historical preservation advocates, “no-growthers” and those who resist competition for Supervalu.

Davis holds the mayor responsible.

“He’s the leader of the no-growth group,” Davis said. “He’s stopping progress. It’s not his fault that property values went down, but it’s his fault that he stopped this [development] study mid-term.”

‘Our strength is tourism’

In recent months, an anonymously written newsletter has surfaced around town with harsh attacks against the mayor for opposing the project.

Otto Dick, president of the Ogle County Historical Society, said he despises the hard feelings that have resulted from the debate over development.

“I don’t hold anything against the people on the economic development commission,” he said. “They felt they were doing the right thing.”

Dick said he didn’t want public money – perhaps a revenue bond or TIF district – to go toward a competitor against Supervalu, a longtime locally owned grocery store that recently remodeled and expanded.

As for downtown redevelopment, Dick suggested taking one step at a time, rather than pursuing some grand scheme.

Oregon, he said, will never be Rochelle, which is seen as an economic development success story.

“They have two railroads and interstates going through,” he said. “We can’t compete. Our strength is tourism.”