Foreclosure puts Hoffman Estates branch library’s future in doubt

Palatine library officials are scrambling for information and solutions after learning this week that the building that houses its Freeman Road Branch has been foreclosed.

The library will remain open until its lease expires at the end of August, but what happens next is a mystery.

“We’re just really surprised about this and can’t begin to speculate about future plans,” Palatine Public Library District Executive Director Susan Strunk said.

Strunk said the landlord emailed Wednesday to notify her that a bank had foreclosed on the building. That was just hours before the library board of trustees was to vote on a new lease agreement.

Strunk has made contact with the building’s new owner, a bank she declined to name, and said the library district is exploring options. It’s uncertain whether the branch will remain open after the lease expires, she said.

Efforts to reach the building owner were unsuccessful.

The Freeman Road Branch Library opened about 20 years ago with the goal of better serving north Hoffman Estates residents. It moved to its current 2,000-square-foot building at 1262 Freeman Road in 1994.

Nearly 68,000 visitors went to the branch in the library district’s fiscal 2009-10 year, compared to 470,000 visitors at the main library on North Court in Palatine.

Strunk said this is the first time there’s been any indication of financial issues for the building’s owners.

“I don’t have a lot of information at this point, but we’re working on communicating with our staff and the community as we learn more,” Strunk said.