Boathouse project restores 'the jewel' of Glen Ellyn
"Polishing the jewel."
That's how Glen Ellyn Park District Executive Director Dave Harris describes a meticulous restoration of a village landmark - the Lake Ellyn Boathouse - that began last September.
Crews are now putting the finishing touches on that jewel, just in time for the park district's cardboard boat regatta. Thousands of spectators are expected Saturday for races that will take place against the backdrop of the newly restored boathouse.
"That's why the exterior was really important to get done," Harris said Monday.
After years of what Harris called "piecemeal" improvements that concealed or neglected historic features, the project has restored the boathouse to a close replica of its original, 1935 design.
The one-story building was built two years later and funded in part by the Works Progress Administration, a hallmark of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs.
"The goal and the intention was still to be very respectful of the building from 1937, realizing that we're adapting it to 2016 and we have thousands of people that come through each year," Harris said.
That means that while some structures have been exposed - a limestone chimney on the boathouse's west side, for instance - visitors also will enjoy more modern amenities.
Those include remodeled bathrooms with lights triggered by sensors and low-flow fixtures and a brighter main hall. There, metal doors were replaced with ones that look out onto Lake Ellyn and lead to a new deck, also with clearer views of the water, thanks to stainless steel, cable railings.
"You have this priceless view, so we wanted to maximize that and we wanted to lighten this place up a little bit," Harris said of the main hall, rented out more than a year in advance for weddings, banquets, reunions and other events.
The park district set aside about $2.9 million for the restoration and construction of a stand-alone bathroom near the playground. But the work came in under budget at $2.82 million. The district also will receive a $74,000 Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation grant.
Now that the project is 95 percent complete, Harris said, the park district is seeking two recognitions for the design.
Two firms are compiling an application to get the boathouse a spot on the National Register of Historic Places: Farr Associates, the project's architects, and Ramsey Historic Consultants, Inc.
And the district's construction manager, Wight & Company, also is helping apply for a gold-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification, from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Excluding buildings on the College of DuPage's Glen Ellyn campus, the boathouse stands to become the first LEED-certified property in the village, Harris said.
"We wanted to model ourselves both historically and from an environmental standpoint," he said.
The park district plans to unveil the interior in an opening celebration Aug. 1, which is also when the boathouse will resume hosting private events.
But construction is complete on new patios, a pergola and landscaping, most of which is native to Illinois and won't require much watering.
The park district used an anonymous $85,000 donation to install an underground sprinkler system using reclaimed water from the lake. That money also will go toward putting up signs around the park.
Bordering the patios is a new concrete wall around the building's three sides that will shield it from any flooding if the lake overflows in major storms, Harris said.
"We want this facility to have another 100 years," he said.