Lombard Jaycees to haunt building on North Avenue

A storefront on North Avenue between Lombard and Villa Park is about to go from dormant to haunted in less than two weeks.

The building at 660 E. North Ave. will be the site of the Lombard Jaycees' 41st annual haunted house beginning at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14.

“This will be the quickest build we've ever done,” Jackie West, a Jaycees member, said.

The rush to transform the former Kawasaki dealership now owned by Laborers Local 96 into a scary space comes after a month and a half of futile searches for a location to haunt, West said.

The Jaycees struck a deal with the union Monday allowing them to use the space, she said. But the group wouldn't have known about the building if not for Dave Barrie of Lombard, who owns Areawide Automotive next door to the vacant Local 96 property.

After reading newspaper reports about the Jaycees' need of a house to haunt, Barrie asked union leadership if they'd be willing to offer their North Avenue building, which now stands unused.

“I know the building has been vacant; I know the owner isn't planning on doing anything until spring time,” Barrie said. “We really wanted to see the haunted house somewhere this year.”

So Barrie put West in contact with union leadership Monday morning, and by 4:30 p.m., the two groups had agreed — 660 E. North Ave. will be the site of the Lombard Jaycees 2011 haunted house, with the theme “There Will be Blood.”

West said the group is happy to have a location near Lombard. Although the building's mailing address is within the Lilac Village, neighboring Villa Park handles zoning and permits for the property.

Jaycees toured the site with Villa Park fire officials and now are awaiting approval of their eight-room floor plan before scrambling to build the haunted house before Oct. 14.

“We had to work overnight to design a floor plan to suit this building,” West said Tuesday. “And we've submitted that to the village.”

Volunteers plan to begin cleaning out old office equipment, Kawasaki motorcycle pamphlets and other unwanted items and start construction as soon as Villa Park allows.

“We've never had this short of a window to get it done,” West said. “We have a lot of people that are coming together and offering to help.”

Between 75 and 100 volunteers are expected to help with construction, John Fitzpatrick, haunted house chairman, said.

The haunted house will be open most evenings from Oct. 14 to Halloween, closing only on Oct. 17, 18 and 24. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children younger than 10.