Rockford Will Borrow $23M To Aid Hotel Development Downtown

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — Rockford will borrow $23 million to build promised amenities at a downtown site where a former factory is becoming a hotel.

The Rockford Register-Star reports that the city council voted this week to fulfill a 2017 obligation to fund a conference center and parking at what will be the Embassy Suites Hotel. The deal also involves remaking an industrial building into a police support site.

City officials say they'll repay the loan over 20 years without raising taxes. City Administrator Todd Cagnoni said interest rates are relatively low. But he did not know what rate the city will pay until bonds are sold.

The hotel is under development at the former Amerock factory.