ECC buys remaining Spartan Meadows land
Elgin Community College recently purchased the remaining 41 acres of the former Spartan Meadows Golf Course for yet-to-be-determined expansion.
The sale of the property, just south of the college’s campus at McLean Boulevard and Spartan Drive, was finalized last month. It culminates an $8 million deal struck almost a year ago with the city of Elgin for the land, said Sharon Konny, ECC vice president of business and finance.
The college previously acquired roughly 16 acres of the golf course property from the city and tore down a golf course halfway house containing restrooms and vending machines to build a new grounds maintenance facility.
“The college and the city have talked about (the sale) for a number of years,” Konny said. “Once the city was able to complete the Highlands (of Elgin) Golf Course and shut down Spartan Meadows Golf Course we were able to negotiate with the city for the property.”
There are no existing buildings on the 41 acres, just a few sand traps and overgrown brush.
“It hasn’t been used in a couple of years. It’s pretty much just gone back to a natural state right now,” Konny said. “Right now, we don’t have any specific plans for it.”
That’s unlikely to change until the college updates its facilities master plan in more than three years, Konny said.
The purchase was funded through a $178 million loan approved by voters in 2009. The college spent $19.2 million to build a new library and $42 million on a new health and life sciences building, both completed in January 2012.
A portion of the remaining referendum funds was put toward land acquisition. With the recent acquisition, ECC’s grounds encompass nearly 190 acres.
“There still is some money leftover from the referendum, but it’s all committed to projects,” Konny said. “We’ll be building a public safety and sustainability center in Burlington. That will be the last major project, costing $18 million. It’s going to be primarily a training center for public safety officials.”
The center will include a training area for firefighters with a burn tower for simulated fires, and driving pads where police officers can practice training behind the wheel. There also will be an area for courses on green energy and green technologies.