Elgin looks ahead with ownership of Rakow Campus
Elgin now formally owns the former Larkin Center's Rakow Campus, bringing things full circle for the property and paving the way for future plans to expand the Sports Complex.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last week a bill transferring ownership of the former Rakow Campus to the city for $1.
"This opens the door to the vast potential that an expanded Sports Complex can bring," City Manager Sean Stegall said.
The city has just begun the process of developing a master plan for the possible expansion of the Sports Complex into 90 acres on the southwest corner of routes 20 and 31. The plan partly hinges on establishing partnerships with entities such as Elgin Community College and others that need more sports facilities.
All of that land once belonged to the Elgin Mental Health Center, which admitted its first patient in 1872. But it all started with the city of Elgin donating some land to the state in 1870, local historian Bill Briska said.
"It's very appropriate that the citizens of Illinois set that land aside for a higher purpose than being an industrial park, and it's very nice to see that it's still going to be available for public use," said Briska, who will give a presentation to the parks and recreation board Aug. 25.
Owning the former Rakow Center will allow the city to build a second entrance to the Sports Complex once a master plan is developed, Stegall said.
The Sports Complex is accessible only from McLean Boulevard on the west side, but a second entrance can be added to the east by building a road running into Middle Road, which flows into Route 31.
The city has nearly $780,000 in tax-increment financing funds - property tax money diverted from local governments - that can be used to redevelop the property.
Briska said the city should consider having interpretive signage about the property's history and be mindful of preserving relatively rare trees, such as tamaracks, that used to be part of an old arboretum there.