Recovery center abandons Campton Hills site
A proposal to convert a former private boarding school near Campton Hills into a substance abuse treatment center has been scuttled.
Officials from the Kiva Recovery Center, which Campton Hills trustees rejected in January after months of heated debate, said Tuesday they are no longer moving forward with the proposal at the 120-acre site.
Village trustees in January voted 4-2 against the 96-bed plan, but Kiva officials vowed to take their project to Kane County for consideration.
Kiva officials offered no insight into why they’re abandoning the site.
“Kiva Real Estate Investments LLC has eliminated the former Glenwood School site in unincorporated Kane County from the properties under consideration for establishing its residential alcohol and substance abuse treatment facility,” read a statement issued by Patrick Griffin, an attorney representing Kiva. “Kiva remains committed to its mission and looks forward to identifying a residential treatment site in the near future.”
Griffin declined further comment Tuesday.
The review process was the most contentious issue since the village incorporated in spring 2007.
Kiva officials portrayed the plan as a private, high-end treatment center geared at recovering professionals who would pay $30,000 for a monthlong stay. No one would be detoxed at the facility, but meth addicts would be treated there.
Residents said they were concerned the project would burden emergency services, be bad for the village’s image and pose a safety risk if patients left the facility.
Village officials negotiated numerous conditions as part of an annexation agreement. Kiva officials agreed to give the village an additional $200,000 a year for 10 years for emergency services. It also agreed to limit who could be accepted to the facility and to install a state-of-the-art security system.
But in the end, trustees said a postcard survey showed most residents opposed the plan.
Glenwood School opened in 1993 and closed in 2009 during the recession, said Glenwood Academy CEO John Irwin.
During its time, it served as a private boarding school for at-risk students in third through eighth grades who were low income and came from a single-parent household.
Glenwood operates another location in the south Chicago suburbs, but has no plans to reopen the school near Campton Hills, Irwin said.
Irwin said the contract with Kiva expired on Feb. 15 after it was extended three times. He said three new parties have expressed interest in the site and all want to use it for some type of school.
“(The Campton Hills school) certainly was affected by the economy. The downturn of ‘08 was a significant challenge. We rely heavily on private donations,” Irwin said. “We really need to sell it. Right now, caring for it is challenging. We do not have any plans to occupy it ourselves. There are currently three groups exploring the possibility of buying it. We don’t have an offer yet. They’re in the due diligence phase.”