Remaking Downtown: Symposium Examines Historic Janesville Business District's Past, Present, Future

Representatives of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the private architectural firm of Studio GWA based out of Rockford, outlined available governmental funds and plans that could help downtown business owners.

With the new Town Square on the banks of the Rock River and other improvements involved in the privately-funded $6 million ARISEnow program leading the way, the downtown is showing sprouts of new life.

The aim is to make downtown the center of activity like it was decades ago.

“Downtown was Bostwicks, Woolworths, Ben Franklin,” said Greg Hughes, a Janesville native who owns the Italian wine bar Genisa downtown and plans to open another bar and restaurant next door named Jack and Jennys sometime in January.

“I used to go down there with my mom, shopping for stuff,” Hughes said. “Kings Pub use to be a big thing.”

All those businesses are gone.

“It seemed to evolve away,” Hughes said. “They seemed to lose their luster. They got old and dated and people moved away from downtown, and those buildings became somewhat abandoned.”

Now many of those structures are being brought back to life.

Hughes did that with the building at 11 N. Main Street, which housed an insurance agency and then Legends bar from 1984 until Hughes purchased it and converted it into Genisa in April 2021. He sees other buildings downtown that could also be converted into modern businesses.

“There’s some great old structures down there that I always thought were really cool,” he said. “Some were built in the 1800s and some are in really great shape. They’re worth preserving if you can.”

Gary Anderson is an expert at converting old buildings into modern businesses. Anderson began an architectural firm in Rockford in 1982 and was rebranded as Studio GWA in 2020. The firm specializes in refurbishing older buildings.

In 2020, Anderson was honored by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce as its Citizen of the Year for his work in restoring the city’s downtown.

Anderson addressed the 25 or so community members at the symposium on what can be possible in downtowns that are dominated by older buildings.

Anderson said afterward that his firm is working with many smaller communities, such as Janesville.

“People might have said years ago that small communities and their downtowns are a thing of the past,” Anderson said. “Well, guess what? They’re making a huge comeback.”

The architecture and character of older buildings are reasons they have become popular projects, Anderson said. He cites work being done in downtown Durand, Illinois as an example of renovation creating renewed interest.

“It’s really exciting,” Anderson said. “People who live in that town are saying, ‘Wow, people are coming here to invest in our community. What didn’t we see?’

“It was all about the architecture,” Anderson said. “People like to leave big cities and come and be part of a smaller community and have a big impact.”

Anderson classifies Janesville as one of those smaller communities. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has created a different working environment for many people.

“There’s no question,” Anderson said. “Cities of 150,000 and below qualify for that. Living in a town is so much more important than working there. People now can almost work from any place, so they are going to pick the town first.”

Todd Needham of RH Batterman is a Janesville native and lives here. He is a partner and design engineer for RH Batterman, an civil engineering/surveying/construction firm with headquarters in Beloit. The 105-year-old firm opened a branch office at 19 N. High Street in Janesville.

Batterman said the firm bought the building in March of 2022 and has a staff of 20-plus people there. He said the location helps them with projects involving the Interstate highway and other areas north of Beloit.

“It used to be a restaurant way back in the day,” said Needham, who added a previous owner had gutted the older building. “We put in some larger offices. It’s exciting to take an old building and do something with it.”

Needham said Batterman did not use any of the funding programs that might be available to them, but said if they renovate the remaining empty portions of the building, he will definitely consider it.

Sean and Lindsey Kennedy are in the process of renovating the building at 121 East Milwaukee Street. The building has been a landmark in downtown Janesville since it was constructed in the 1890s.

The three-story building has operated as the London Hotel, the London Pub, the Lava Lounge and The Hilltop. The Kennedys purchased the building in March of 2021 and have been working on plans to open a bar/restaurant on the first floor and have 10 hotel rooms on the second and third floors.

Sean Kennedy said sitting through the presentations Friday morning gave them invaluable information on possible loans they could use to finalize their goals. They have applied for some of the funds that were discussed.

“To hear someone who has actually used those resources gives you the feeling you can do it,” Sean said.

“We basically have gutted it back to the bones,” Lindsey said of the completed work. They have tentative plans to open a year from now.

Hughes would like to see more apartments, townhouses or condominiums constructed downtown to increase the foot traffic. But he sees a bright future for the area, as his two bar/restaurants show.

“I’m completely bullish on downtown,” Hughes said. “In 10 years, I see a bunch of people living in downtown, walking around and a thriving bunch of shops, restaurants and businesses.

“We have the river, and we should take full advantage of it. It’s scenic and cool and for decades, a lot of people of ignored the river. Now we can take advantage of it.”

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