173 the New State Street?
March 24th, 2008 at 03:14pm Phil R. Knight
So I am reading rrstar.com, and see this quote:
“Your 173 is the new East State Street,” Pankaj Mahajan, director of retail development for First Rockford Group, said.
And then I begin thinking to myself. Do I really want 173 to be State Street? We already have the interchange at I-90, so we know something is coming. It’s that something that has me wondering. I love having the convenience of the box-stores. We already have Target, Menards, and Home Depot. We’ve got Office Depot & Office Max. Have Bed Bath & Beyond, Michael’s and TJ Maxx, too. I’ve got my dry cleaners and cell phone store. Oh, and we have the movie place and some restaurants, too. We’ve got the Riverside & Rockton Wal-Marts, so we don’t need them. I’d like to have a Best Buy. But what else would we need there?
Am I just so lame that I am satisfied with the national retailers we already have? What other national retailers want to be in my neighborhood? Do I really want a four-lane 173 with traffic and stoplights everywhere? The Christmas holiday was only three months ago, and I remember the traffic and parking nightmare at State & Perryville. I really don’t think I want that in my back yard. Maybe someone will change my mind.
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized
5 Comments Add your own
1. Raymond C. Garcia M.D. | March 24th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I hear ya, Phil! And what about Menards building another box just to move down a few blocks?! I hope the old one doesn’t become another empty eyesore on 251.
2. Thaddeus Mack | March 24th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I believe the time to decide if you didn’t want 173 to be the new State Street has come and gone; long ago. Those businesses are located in a close proximity to Rockford, but without the idiotic taxes and restrictions businesses in this town have to deal with. If nothing else, now is the time to find open land, buy it and sit on it for 5-10 years as it will become very valuable while the stranglehold over “non downtown businesses” grow in Rockford.
3. Jan Herbert | March 25th, 2008 at 7:52 am
And then Rockton Road becomes the new 173?
4. Phil R. Knight | March 25th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Jan - I totally agree. Rockton Road is going to be the new 173. We have to plan as a region, together, so we do not become the typical ‘chicago burb’!!!
5. Jan Herbert | March 27th, 2008 at 6:36 am
Phil — So how can we make sure to discover the forward thinkers who will think about our region, rather than continuing this battle of the “big road” populated by the same businesses just 10 miles down the road. It’s the domino effect in reverse, as the new locations are built, the stores at the end of the domino line close. The communities involved “ride the wave”, but then eventually it disappears.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed