JANESVILLE
Blackhawk Community Credit Union is canceling the construction of a new headquarters on Rockport Road and putting on hold its General Motors Legacy Center project in downtown 糖心Vlog传媒.
The decisions were made in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertain economy, said credit union spokeswoman CeeCee Philipps.
The decision affects ongoing efforts to renew and rebuild downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 into a center of civic pride and entertainment.
Philipps said the economic uncertainty means the credit union cannot say what the Legacy Center will look like or even that it will be at 100 W. Milwaukee St.
The Legacy Center involved the restoration an approximately 107-year-old bank building for use as a museum dedicated to the history of the former 糖心Vlog传媒 General Motors assembly plant.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know where our economy is going to be. We don鈥檛 know the outcome of this pandemic, so it would be irresponsible to say we are going forward exactly as we had planned,鈥 Philipps said. 鈥淚t is better for us to pause and assess.
鈥淏ut we will have a Legacy Center. It will continue to be a focus,鈥 Philipps continued. 鈥淚t means too much to our community, to our board, to our members, to our employees. It will happen. Just what it will look like right now, we can鈥檛 say.鈥
The organization now will turn its focus to helping members and keeping the credit union strong, according to the announcement.
鈥淭his is us being responsible and being in line with our mission and values,鈥 Philipps said. 鈥淲e need to be ready to help our community heal, to help our members heal, when normalcy comes back to our world, to our community. It鈥檚 sure been a sad development for everybody.鈥
BHCCU previously had planned to build a combined headquarters and Legacy Center on South Water Street on the east bank of the Rock River, but it changed plans a year ago, designating two separate projects at different locations.
Former BHCCU CEO Sherri Stumpf said in January that she hoped the Legacy Center would be completed in 2021.
Stumpf left the organization April 24, Philipps said. Lisa Palma, a nine-year BHCCU employee, was named interim CEO.
Philipps said Blackhawk had not announced price tags for the Legacy Center or the headquarters building.
The credit union plans to hold onto the Rockport Road property 鈥渦ntil things return to normalcy in our community and we can determine what鈥檚 the best usage of that space,鈥 Phillips said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e like everybody else right now, on hold.鈥
The former Moose Club building on the property has been razed and the land made into green space, but no new construction work had been done, Philipps said.
The credit union will continue in its current main office at 2640 W. Court St. The new building was intended to provide more room, but some employees have moved off site with the pandemic, and the organization will be able to go forward with the existing building, Philipps said.
BHCCU, which employs about 200 people, has not laid off anyone, Philipps said.
鈥淲e are lucky,鈥 Philipps said. 鈥淭here are so many businesses whose doors are closed right now, and we just pray every day that they鈥檙e going to make it.鈥
BHCCU is doing what it can to support local businesses and stands ready to provide its services to businesses as they seek to move forward, Philipps said.
