Pubdate: Sat, 16 Apr 2005 Source: Rockford Register Star (IL) Website: (http://www.rrstar.com/http://www.rrstar.com/ Copyright: 2005 Rockford Register Star Contact: http://www.rrstar.com/ezaccess/contactus/lettertotheeditor.shtml Website: http://www.rrstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/370 SIGNS OF NEW LIFE ON SEVENTH STREET The hookers and the winos and the bums are being pushed aside by chocolate shops, bagel shops and makeup manufacturers. With a new federal historic designation, the revitalization of Rockford's Seventh Street promises to continue. The National Park Service has added the street's commercial district to its National Register of Historic Places. Seventh Street is among the largest of 24 areas in Rockford on the register. The status brings eligibility for federal grants and a 20 percent federal income tax credit, among other benefits. Already, five redevelopment projects are under way. Among them: The Mid Town District Association is building loft housing and commercial and retail space; Zion Development Corp. is putting up seven condominiums; and Colorlab Cosmetics is expanding. Other signs of growth in the last year include the opening of an upscale Belgian chocolate shop called Leonidas and the new Rockford Bread and Bagel Co., owned by Rockford Ald. Jeff Holt, D-11. Holt's ward includes the Mid Town District and Seventh Street. We prefer these projects to the headlines a decade ago, when the area seemed to be fighting a losing battle with drug traffickers, prostitutes and other criminals. The turnaround began in earnest five years ago, with the renovation of an 89-year-old train depot into a neighborhood resource center for economic development. Bill Mohr, executive director of Mid Town then and now, described his motto: When you turn the lights on, the cockroaches scatter. They are going to scatter even more in a historic district. Good luck. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth