Rockford, IL Residents Are Confused About Future Plans For the Old Magna Parking Lot

The City of Rockford, Illinois has finally announced a possible plan for the old Magna parking lot on E State Street, but quite a few residents are missing the most important piece of information.

 Why You Always Need to Read the Article

I'm pretty sure many Rockford residents would agree that the space that used to house the old Magna store and a strip mall next to Don Carter Lanes at 3915 E State Street is in desperate need of attention.

The old buildings were demolished in 2020, and they left a big unsightly hole at the beginning of Rockford's Miracle Mile, but this problem may be fixed soon!

A New Rockford Fire Department Station in the Works

Eyewitness News reports that the Rockford Fire Department has its eye on the old Magna parking lot for the site of a new fire station that would replace the current one on Rural Street in Rockford.

The current Rural Street station is in need of maintenance and repairs, which have been put on pause since the idea of relocating to E. State Street was floated in 2020.

Building a new fire station on E State Street comes with several benefits like quicker call response time, but a few drawbacks as well.

First off, before anything is built the site would need to be redeveloped and improvements would need to be made to Keith Creek which "currently channels under the parking lot".

The new fire station project "would utilize American Rescue Plan spending funds and TIF funds for improvement to the site outside of the new fire station", and is up for approval at the next Rockford City Council meeting.

Rockford Residents Confused Over RFD Plans

While the news of a potential new Rockford Fire Department station may seem straightforward, the way it was worded has some people confused...or maybe I should say hopeful.

When Eyewitness News shared the story on Facebook, they referenced "a newly constructed State Street station"...

and then comments like this started pouring in...

All I read was “newly constructed State Street Station.

So State Street Station is making a comeback?

 ...and it will have a pole too!

LOL! I'd be lying if I said I didn't first think that this old biz was making a comeback too...

For the record; no, State Street Station is not making a comeback. Yes, if the City Council approves the project and a new RFD station is built, they should probably come up with a different name than "State Street station" for it...just saying.

RELATED: Video of the Old Magna Strip Mall Before It Was Torn Down