BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND THE REVITALIZATION OF THE ROCKFORD DOWNTOWN RIVER DISTRICT

The Former Ingersoll Machine Tool site is located along the banks of the Rock River in Rockford, Illinois. The site is the focus of brownfields redevelopment efforts with the vision of turning the former farm implement factory into an indoor sports complex in the heart of Rockford’s downtown. The site sits to the east of multiple brownfield properties and looks west across the river towards numerous relics of Rockford’s manufacturing past. These sites are other key sites that are included in Rockford’s redevelopment program. The redevelopment potential of these past industrial sites are interdependent. In order to maximize the potential for redevelopment, all the sites' interdependence must be considered.

Notable challenges were encountered due to the site's proximity to the Rock River and the need to maintain the structural integrity of the site. Given these physical challenges, a combination of in-situ chemical oxidation and contaminant removal was chosen to remediate contaminants found at the site including beneath the existing building’s footprint. Contaminant transport modeling in groundwater was also complicated by the proximity to the river and its location to shallow limestone bedrock. The Former Ingersoll site is now in the final stages of construction and redevelopment and has been awarded a draft No Further Remediation letter. The letter will be finalized when construction on the new UW Health Sports Factory indoor sports complex is complete. The UW Health Sports Factory is set to open in May 2015. The successful remediation at the Former Ingersoll site has proven to be an integral part of Rockford’s long-term redevelopment goal of updating the urban infrastructure of the downtown river district.