Residential development at 4 E. State Street in Geneva looking east. Rendering from Mill Race Land Company, LLC, 2026.
A preliminary proposal for a residential development that includes three five-story buildings with 84 residential units on the site of Geneva’s historic 1840s blacksmith shop was submitted to the City of Geneva on September 18, 2026. The units would occupy about 2 acres of riverfront property, southeast of the State Street bridge.
Renderings submitted by the property owner do not conclusively indicate whether the blacksmith shop would be demolished or whether any memorial to the historic building is planned if it were demolished.
WHAT'S NEXT?
After city staff completes its review, the proposal will first be considered at a public meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission. The proposal would then be considered at a public hearing of the city's Planning and Zoning Commission before moving for final consideration by City Council.
The dates of those hearings have not yet been set.
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BUILDING CODE VIOLATIONS
It is unclear how this proposal may impact a hearing planned for October 15, 2026 on building maintenance code violations for the former blacksmith shop or how the over $500,000 in fines levied against the property owner since October of 2024 would be handled.
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Read more from the developer in a report from the Kane County Chronicle.
For more on the building's historic significance, please read our brief history of the building.
To learn more about the twists and turns in the last three years of this issue, read our blog post series here.
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