Elmhurst park board studying options for Lizzadro Museum site

A portion of Elmhurst's Wilder Park likely will have a new look two years from now, but at this point no one is exactly sure what it might be.

The park district board began preliminary talks this week about possible options for the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art site near the southeast corner of the park. The building, which dates to the early 1960s, is scheduled to close in late 2019 in preparation for the museum's move to a new home in Oak Brook.

When it does, the 5,000-square-foot structure - designed to resemble a jewelry box and containing an eclectic collection of gemstones and intricate carvings - will become the park district's property.

The park board will face several decisions at that point, including the possibility of demolishing the museum and converting the area back to green space; razing the building and replacing it with a new structure for district or community activities; or trying to reuse the facility.

Executive Director James Rogers says park officials have a "considerable amount of time" to consider those and other options.

With that in mind, commissioners have directed staff to work with an architectural engineering firm to, among other things, get a better handle on the potential costs of both continuing to operate the building and of tearing it down.

As part of that process, the district also may evaluate small buildings in other parks and fold that research into a single study that could be completed in the fall.

The key question when it comes to the museum, Rogers said, is whether the community wants the district to save the building and repurpose it.

Officials recently walked through the Lizzadro with representatives of two firms: Midwest Environmental Consulting Services Inc. to assess the potential for asbestos abatement and WT Group to get a feel for the cost of demolishing the building and bringing the surrounding property up to grade. Rogers said the estimated cost of razing the building and doing the necessary asbestos abatement is roughly $226,000.

If officials opt to use the site as green space, Rogers said, they may consider turning it into a garden. If the district decides not to bring the site up to grade - the museum sits in a low-lying area of the park - it could even create a sunken garden.

Wilder Park is one of the district's signature locations, covering roughly 17 acres within an easy stroll of downtown Elmhurst.