Sixth Street School demo starts Wednesday
Kane County will begin tearing down the former Sixth Street School in Geneva Wednesday, city officials have announced.
The county is selling the site to the Geneva Public Library District. The library board plans to build a new library there.
The county had bought the school from the library district in 1989. It sold it back to the library district this year. The library is helping to pay for the demolition.
It should take about three weeks to knock down the school at 210 S. Sixth St.
Geneva residents had protested the demolition of the building, which is in the city's historic district. The city's Historic Preservation Commission denied a demolition permit, but the city council overturned the decision. In exchange for getting the demolition permit, the county agreed to pay for an updated survey of the city's historic district, which encompasses two National Historic Register-designated districts.
The school opened in 1924 and had additions in the 1930s. The county used it to house the Kane County Regional Office of Education.