Wheaton charity moving into old health department building
A Wheaton-based charity that serves home-schooled students is moving to the recently vacated DuPage County Health Department building at 422 N. Prospect St.
This week, the Wheaton City Council approved the rezoning of the property from local business district to institution district, to make way for The Greenhouse, which has operated out of Christ Community Church since 2001.
"It looks like a great project," Councilwoman Suzanne Fitch said. "I think it's a great location."
Although it functions like a school, The Greenhouse is a charity that serves students in grades one through 12 living within a 30-mile radius of Wheaton. The students gather one or two days a week at the facility, where they do some coursework and participate in art shows, science fairs and theatrical productions.
According to the charity's website, The Greenhouse exists to "develop a new generation of leaders who will serve the common good and in all things bring glory to God."
The health department provided transitional services for mental health clients in the building until this past April, when it temporarily moved services to a building at 420 N. County Farm Road.
Those programs, along with programs that were offered at a second now-vacant health department building in Lombard, will be permanently moved this fall into the health department's new $11 million community health center on the county campus. A ribbon cutting for the new building is scheduled for Oct. 15.
Health department officials have said there will be enough money to pay for the new building with reserves and the sale of the Lombard and Wheaton facilities.
According to city staff, The Greenhouse has plans for several interior modifications, including wider hallways, combined rooms for larger learning space and the addition of sinks in some classrooms.
On average, 70 to 80 students are expected to be at the school each day. However, leaders from The Greenhouse informed city staff that they hope to increase that number to a maximum of 165 students per day in the next three to five years.