Glen Ellyn demolishing two buildings

Two buildings on a strategic corner in Glen Ellyn will be demolished while officials examine potential uses for the sites.

The former Marathon gas station at 825 N. Main St. and the vacant Carey house at 553 Geneva Road will be taken down at a cost of $29,750, under an agreement with the Phase I Excavation company approved Monday by the village board. The village sought quotes for demolition of both properties at the same time to save money.

The village purchased the gas station last September for $590,000 with intentions of redevelopment. Environmental remediation has been done on the 59,000-square-foot site.

Across the street, the Carey house was purchased with funds from an anonymous donor, and annexed into Glen Ellyn Historical Society’s plan for a history park around its Stacy’s Tavern museum. Long-term plans for the property at 553 Geneva call for building a replica of a historic stagecoach barn, said Bill Peterson, the society’s president.

But until funding becomes available, the land will remain green space, Peterson said.

Village staff originally sought quotes for demolition of those two buildings and a third, the King property at 810 N. Main St., but cost savings would have been minimal, officials said.

The 810 N. Main St. property, which contains two storefronts and a house in back, likely will be demolished during the next fiscal year, which begins in May, said Staci Hulseberg, the village’s director of planning and development.

A task force appointed last year to examine the future use of that land is expected to present recommendations to the village board. Village officials want to see the report before making any decisions about that property, Hulseberg said.

The historical society turned over the land to the village last summer in exchange for relieving some of the group’s debt. But the society is keeping a 50-foot strip at the back of the property that connects Stacy’s Tavern with the Glen Ellyn History Center, 800 N. Main St.

Peterson said development of a plaza at the corner of Main Street and Geneva Road is now being completed, and a formal dedication ceremony will be later this spring. But no additional development of the park will be completed until the economy improves and funding becomes available, he said.