The Wedge Innovation Center, Alton

2026 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Rehabilitation

The Wedge Innovation Center revitalized two historic masonry buildings in downtown Alton to spur economic and cultural revitalization in a community that has seen decades of disinvestment. The Wedge Building (1904) and the Elfgen Building (1869) are prominent, locally significant commercial buildings, redeveloped by Rex Encore LLC under its AltonWorks redevelopment brand, with Kiku Obata & Company serving as architect. The rehabilitation of these properties is part of AltonWorks’ ongoing campaign to transform Alton’s downtown core through inventive, preservation-focused redevelopment. The project was shaped by years of community-engaged planning, including surveys of 100 local organizations and the opening of a community engagement storefront in 2020. Those conversations shaped the center’s reimagining as a civic and community space.

The property includes retail and coworking spaces and a training center and hosts a community broadband network. In a city where median income sits 33 percent below the county level, the project prioritized hiring local and formerly incarcerated workers and committed to a construction workforce that was at least 25 percent workers of color and 6 percent female. The Wedge Innovation Center is estimated to create 250 full-time, long-term jobs.

Additional information

The preservation-led revitalization strategy in Alton began with landmarking 84 contributing buildings in the Middletown Historic District to unlock historic tax credits. The Wedge and Elfgen buildings were among the first properties acquired to house high-speed fiber networks, supported by $20 million in state appropriations. A diverse portfolio of local, state and federal funding supported the project, including $2 million in Rebuild Downtowns & Main Streets (RDMS) grants from the Illinois DCEO; $7.5 million in TIF funding from the City of Alton; State and Federal Historic Tax Credits; New Markets Tax Credits; and $500,000 in Congressionally directed spending secured by Sen. Dick Durbin.

Project Principals

• Owner: John and Jayne Simmons / Rex Encore LLC
• Architect, Interior Design & Environmental Graphics: Kiku Obata & Company
• Historic Preservation Specialist: Karen Bode Baxter
• Architectural Conservator – Masonry: Wollenberg Building Conservation LLC
• Vitrolite Replication: Vitrolite Specialist Inc
• Lighting Design: Reed Burkett Lighting Design
• Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
• Civil & MEP Engineering: Mazzetti Inc
• Code Consultant: Code Consultants Inc
• Contractor: BSI Constructors Inc

Why is this place important to you?

Taylor Emerick, Managing Director, Real Estate, Rex Encore LLC

The Wedge is important to us because it embodies what we believe about preservation: historic buildings are not obstacles to progress; they can become platforms for it. For generations, the Wedge Bank and Elfgen buildings have occupied one of the most visible and recognizable corners in downtown Alton. By restoring the Elfgen Building and the Wedge Bank Building and thoughtfully joining them as one innovation center, we preserved an important part of Alton’s architectural identity while giving it a meaningful role in the city’s future.
We were deliberate about retaining the features that give these buildings their character while introducing the technology, accessibility and amenities needed for a modern workplace and community resource.

This place is personally meaningful because it represents confidence in Alton. Its restoration is not simply an exercise in nostalgia; it is an investment in the belief that downtown Alton is worthy of ambitious ideas and long-term commitment. The Wedge demonstrates that a community can move forward without erasing the places that tell its story.

How did saving this place impact people in your community?

Taylor Emerick, Managing Director, Real Estate, Rex Encore LLC

The Wedge transformed two historic buildings into an active center where business, education and community intersect. Entrepreneurs, students, remote professionals, nonprofits, established companies and community organizations now come together to work, learn, exchange ideas and build relationships. Through its partnership with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), the center provides access to research, business-development resources, educational programming and expertise that might otherwise be difficult for local entrepreneurs and organizations to reach.

During its first year, The Wedge engaged approximately 220 companies and organizations and welcomed hundreds of people through its workspaces, programs, meetings and events. Those interactions have helped create new professional networks, support small businesses and connect students and employers across the region.

The project has also restored activity and pride to a prominent downtown block. It encourages residents and visitors to see Alton’s historic buildings not as remnants of a former era, but as assets capable of supporting contemporary life and economic opportunity. The most meaningful impact is that these buildings were not merely saved—they were made useful, accessible and generative again. People now come here to work, launch businesses, solve problems, learn, collaborate and celebrate, reconnecting Alton’s history with its economic and civic future.