Construction has begun and you can follow the progress here – up to and through Grand Opening Day! 

First Rockford Group (the landlord) has begun work on the exterior.  A complete face-lift is transforming this dated retail building into a modern style “out building” for two tenants.

Frank Tarara will open his third Jersey Mike’s Subs store in the Rockford area.  The first store is located on East State Street in front of Pet Smart, the second on the south side of the 173 corridor next to Buffalo Wild Wings and this newest third store will be at the intersection of Harrison and South Alpine in front of Schnuk’s Supermarket paired with a new Starbucks location.

Belles Architecture will produce the construction documents per the design drawings from corporate.  This means that we will detail how the restaurant will be built as the local architect of record.  Our drawings will depict the design intent standards coupled with local codes and ordinances.  We will work with the local contractors and material suppliers to get the restaurant up and running by the end of the summer.

Ready – Get Set – Let’s GO get Jersey Mike’s Subs!

Can’t wait to see Zina Horton – grow this place up!

We have always said that a Local – Small Business owner is our perfect client.

One that is established and  in the beginning stages of a growth mode – with a clear vision and drive to succeed!  Zina Horton’s vision for Zammuto’s Drive In and her Granita product is a grand example.  Last summer as restaurant architects we helped her re-organize the floor plan of her existing kitchen at 725 Kent Street while replacing a hood for code compliance.  Now Zina is well poised for efficiency and future growth!

Today the Rockford Register Star announced her plans to package her Granita product for Wholesale and Retail Sales and open a second Zammuto’s Drive In location!

Our  Restaurant & Industrial Design Experience will be invaluable to her as she looks for and selects spaces for her growing business.  We always offer our existing clients our advice and expertise.  We offer full service consulting from land or tenant space selection through the purchase or lease process.   As soon as a location is selected Architectural Design can begin.  Through work with our associates we  can even help her develop a complete image that offers a unique identity for her product and company.  Like Red Mango?  We would love to do a comparable full design concept for Zammuto’s!  As restaurant architects it is always our greatest pleasure to work together with clients who become our friends along the way.

Watch for Zina and Zamutto’s Granita to capture the frozen treat market in Rockford and Beyond! 

We accept credit card payment for Architecture fees.

There will be a 2.75% Convenience Fee added to each transaction.

Belles Architecture now accepts Credit Card payment for Architecture fees ! 

Thanks to the advancement of technology we are finally able to accept credit card payment architecture fees at Belles Architecture.  Either Rob or Lynn can swipe your card for payment in our office or in the field using a device attached to a mobile phone.

There will be a small convenience fee of 2.75% added to each transaction – but we are glad to finally offer this method of payment to our valued clients.

In addition to accepting credit card payment architecture fees we also accept Cash, Personal or Business Checks, PayPal or an email payment from your bank account.  Because we are a small business we depend on our fee income for daily cash flow.  Payment of the fee for your project is due in full when you receive the work product from us, just like going to an Architecture store.

PayPal is a secure method of payment that protects your financial data.  PayPal is always free for you to make a purchase. You don’t even need a PayPal account and can pay us in any of 24 currencies. Over 100 million people trust PayPal to help protect their financial info.  We are always happy to accept payment via PayPal..

Our most recent Special Use Permit applicant, Stay True Tattoo is OPEN for business!

Belles Architecture does Zoning Application Preparation! 

Many governmental jurisdictions including Rockford require you to apply for permission to open a business in a new location.

The Zoning department administrates the zoning application process for Zoning activities. Map Amendments, Special Use Permits and Variances which can be requested by property owners or developers for the purpose of commercial and residential development.  The zoning technicians will provide assistance as well as background information and recommendations to the Zoning Board of Appeals a public committee.  Zoning also provides zoning clearances for building permits, new water meter requests and permanent sign permits.  It also issues permits for Home Occupations, parking lots, fences, banners and inflatable signs.

If you are confused by the process or just don’t have time to deal with it, give us a call.  This is what we do – we understand the process and know the people at City Hall.

Our most recent Special Use Permit applicant, Stay True Tattoo is OPEN for business!

Finally – we were able to get away for a real vacation.  Of course as Architects – our vacation is full of  exploring Architecture and we love to share what we see. 
San Juan Puerto Rico, a U.S. Territory is near the top of our list of favorite places.  We love the Forts, the Bright Colors and most of all the weather!  In San Juan every day is almost the same – hot and sunny!

We use Facebook to show our travel photos – click the link below to see them:

 Click HERE to view the Forts of San Juan Puerto Rico

 Click HERE to view the San Juan Album 

Click “Like” on our Facebook page to follow us around the world and back!

The single story, corner, commercial building for sale or lease is 1,800 s.f. of artfully finished space suitable for a business use.   Located at the corner of Jefferson and Hall Streets in Rockford Illinois, near the controlled intersection of Jefferson and Sixth.  The street address of the property is 1001 East Jefferson Street, Rockford, IL 61107.  Jefferson Street is a one-way westbound street, gateway to the downtown area having a traffic volume of  16,100 cars a day and 6th Street is a southbound one-way exit from US 51 headed directly at the building has a traffic volume of 9,800 cars per day.   There are four on street parking stalls limited to 2 hours just steps from the door. Prospective buyers or tenants should contact owners, Rob or Lynn @ Belles Architecture.  You may use the contact page, email or call directly – 815.961.0504.

 commercial building for sale, commercial building for lease

Recently, a concern for the environment, a realization of the toxicity of building products, and a 10-fold increase in the cost to dispose (dump) of materials has made selective demolition more popular, and economically viable. Metal recycling has been at the front of this revenue stream. Simply removing, separating, and recycling materials reduces the fees associated with disposal, while generating a revenue stream from the sale of the recycled metal. On a deconstruction project overseen by Belles Firm of Architecture, Inc., all the nails were removed from reclaimed lumber. The nails were put in barrels, and recycled.

The re-use of materials can also reduce the embodied energy necessary to replace an existing building with a new one. As part of a deconstruction project overseen by Belles Firm of Architecture, Inc., fiberglass insulation was removed from the walls, cleaned, repackaged, and available for re-use. The energy (embodied energy) necessary to re-make this product was saved with no loss of material usability. This will become a major consideration as municipalities adopt (and even require) buildings be constructed to a “Green” Standard such as LEED or Energy Star.

As methods for the deconstruction of buildings have improved, owners, contractors, and architects have discovered there is even greater value in saving and reclaiming materials than simply recycling them. Rather than ripping metal apart, and sending it to a plant for recycling, a contractor can carefully take the building apart and sell the pieces for immediate re-use. This often involves the services of an architect to see that pieces are removed safely, without damage, and maintain their re-sale value. At the same time that the building industry has gotten better at deconstruction, the internet has grown to provide an easy, cost effective way to market and sell the reclaimed materials.

The services of an architect can provide added value to the materials that are being reclaimed. An architect can advise to which products can be re-used as-is, which products will require repair/refinishing, and which products can be reattributed. Plumbing pipe, conduit, and code compliant devices can be re-used. Wood timbers, once properly graded, can also be re-used with little reworking. An architect can advise as to the code compliance and grading for re-use. Reattributed items have the potential for the greatest design impact, and most economic gain. Architects have devised creative ways to reuse boiler room doors, organ pipes, etc. These obsolete items can become “building art” rather than demolition debris.

The end result is a project that is better for the environment, uses less energy, costs less to construct, AND has added value that makes it worth more!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstruction_(building)

After a complete inspection of each piece of work we decided to move on…. As we turned in the headset to the museum official, at the exit to the exhibit, Rob noticed a brochure entitled “Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin Sites”, a quick glance revealed two Milwaukee buildings…… If we hurried we could catch a tour of a System Built house from 1916.  2714 W Burnam Street Is an efficient compact house with original built-ins and trademark Wright Style it has been meticulously restored by Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin of Madison, an organization committed to promoting, protecting and preserving the heritage of Frank Lloyd Wright, his vision and his architecture in his native state of Wisconsin….  The home is accompanied on the block by four two family dwellings and another single family all Wright designs.  We never knew that there was such a thing as Wright System Built Home designs.  Wright believed that every working American family should live in an efficient, economical, life-enhancing work of art…. and he made available plans for such homes that would be affordable to all.  For more information about the West Burnam Block visit:  www.WrightInMilwaukee.org

The second Milwaukee site was the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa (a Milwaukee suburb), and our timing couldn’t have been better!!  One of Wright’s last major commissions completed two years after his death atop a generous piece of land crowned by a 106 foot blue ceiling dome who’s floorplan depicts a cross within a circle was most photogenic late in the afternoon on this early April day.  We enjoyed our walk which encircled the structure… and took some of the most beautiful photos I can find anywhere…  I was particularly fond of the blue tile roof over the entrance outlined by custom copper ornamental flashing and the inclusion of the signature urns…  An element of design used throughout the evolution of Mr. Wright’s design style.  Since a picture paints a thousand words…. enjoy the photos of this one.  Tuesdays and Fridays tours are offered for a $10 donation by calling the church… more information is available here:  www.annunciationwi.com

On the flip side of our trip, we were headed south to Chicago to pick up our daughter… Racine, the home of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Johnson Wax headquarters building was a reasonably convenient detour.  On a Sunday afternoon the complex is quite secure and we were not able to get very close but did enjoy the view from the perimeter.  A Frank Lloyd Wright Skyscraper…..  Pretty cool!

It was interesting to think about the comparison of the internship offered by the American Master to a traditional University degree obtained by architects today…..  During a typical internship you would learn to design the space, build the space, live in / use the space, and how to maintain the space.  You learned first hand through your experience and through the experience of others with whom you lived…  You didn’t pay or receive pay for this privilege.  You had to exhibit talent and potential to be invited…  My opinion??? ORGANIC EDUCATION at it’s finest! Sadly, it is impossible to become an architect in this manner today.  Here in the 21st century, a University Education is required by law… to sit for the exam.

The Audubon Inn which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Beaumont Hotel was built beginning in 1875. This Queen Anne boutique hotel located at the gateway to the Horicon Marsh represents the strength of the Mayville community and endurance of history in this quiet town along the Rock River in Wisconsin.  www.AudubonInn.com

We arrived in Mayville late in the afternoon, just in time for a walking tour through downtown along the mighty Rock. We wandered up the block where we found a walking bridge at a damn connected to a rustic stair up the opposing river bank.  Our curiosity and love of architecture always takes us exploring…  We climbed the steps, then headed south toward an area that had looked interesting on our way into town.  We crossed back over the river at the Fireman’s Park Lodge walking bridge and then climbed up a limestone stair to the “Graceland “ Cemetery, where we found the future grave of a “Robert Kennedy” and enjoyed a peaceful exploration at almost sunset.  The Beaumont Restaurant on the ground floor of the Audubon Inn was to be our dinner destination… so we headed back before arrival of the cool night air.  As we approached the Audubon inn on foot, we realized that we needed to move our car to the lot across the street for the night.  There was still a few minutes of daylight left so our exploration of Mayville continued.  We looped through town, through residential and industrial areas and as we were returning on the main drag…. when an old school building caught our eye.  We pulled over at the Mayville Limestone School Museum to read the sign and take a better look.  It was the oldest school still in operation, at one time.  It has since been converted to a museum.  It too is included on the National Register of Historic Places having been constructed at about the same time as our hotel.  We enjoyed this little town and it’s architecture, as we always do.

The Audubon Inn reminded us of our Chick House project with Mike Leifheit. Which by the way is still a viable project….  Anyone interested should contact Belles Architecture or Mike Leifheit to discuss it’s continuation.  Belles Architecture has schematic plans that are approved by the National Park Service and the state of Illinois for restoration of the Chick House as a 24 room Boutique Hotel and Bar / Restaurant, just like the Audubon Inn.  Belles Architecture is ready to go, our pre-approved plans will save a year or more of time to an owner or group of investors with financing.  The project also qualifies for historic tax credits.  Don’t let this beauty located right across the street from the newly renovated Rockford Metro Center get away…. call today for the details and check out the photos in the gallery below!